Following historic Kim-Moon summit, Korean War to be declared officially over after 68 years

The Korean War will be formally declared over after 68 years, the North and South said in the inter-Korean summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in. It has been hailed as a "historic meeting" which paved the way for the start of a new era, Pyongyang's state media said. The official KCNA news agency said it was a "historic meeting that has opened a new era for national reconciliation and unity, peace and prosperity", and carried the text of the leaders' Panmunjom Declaration in full.

The two leaders "confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula". Denuclearization being reported in the North Korean media is unprecedented due to the official propaganda which has always presented the country`s nuclear program as a matter of national pride and fundamental to the survival of the regime. Even though denuclearization was one of the key issues in the joint declaration on Friday, no concrete steps in achieving it were mentioned.

The two neighbouring countries also agreed to work towards peace on the peninsula with a formal end to the conflict set to be announced later this year. The pair agreed to bring the two countries together and establish a "peace zone" on the contested border.

For years, Pyongyang insisted it would never give up the "treasured sword" of its nuclear arsenal, which it says it needs to defend itself against a possible US invasion. But it has offered to put it up for negotiation in exchange for security guarantees, according to Seoul -- although Kim made no public reference to doing so at yesterday's spectacular summit.

When Kim stepped over the military demarcation line that divides the peninsula he became the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War hostilities ceased in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. He then persuaded Moon to step into the North, and the two leaders shared a day of smiles, intimate moments, and a half-hour-long one-on-one conversation.

Rodong Sinmun, the country`s main newspaper, featured 15 photographs from different moments of Friday`s summit on its front page, and another 20 on the second, reports Efe news. Thee photos showed Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in holding hands, the moment when the North Korean leader crossed over to the South, and the symbolic tree planting ceremony, among others.

The newspaper also published the full text of the Panmunjom Declaration, which Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed on Friday.

The media in Pyongyang, which on Friday had only mentioned that their leader had traveled to the South to meet with Moon, on Saturday covered the summit in full, including reporting on the denuclearization of the regime.

State-owned KCNA agency published the declaration which discussed the common goal of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.