The two leaders also pledged to open liaison offices in both capitals to fast-track better relations
China has lauded what it called the courageous summit between the leaders of the two Koreas.
On Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in stepped over the demilitarized line separating the two countries since an armistice was signed at the end of the Korean war in 1953.
Kim first stepped over the line and then invited Moon to do the same, with both holding hands.
The two, who had never met, appeared friendly to one another, but it was during their talks that significant steps were taken.
After planting a tree and taking a walk in the gardens at the border village of Panmunjom around the demarcation line, the two sat for a private talk away from journalists and their entourage.
They agreed to halt all hostile acts and move toward formally ending the Korean war later this year.
“It took us 11 years to get here,” Kim said in brief remarks to the press.
“I hope this will be an opportunity for the two Korean peoples to move freely from North to South. We need to take responsibility for our own history,” he added.
They also pledged to work toward |complete denuclearization|, improve bilateral relations and turning the demilitarized zone into a peace zone.
In what is now referred to as the Panmunjom Declaration, the two leaders also said they were committed to reuniting families separated by the war 65 years ago.
Moon is expected to visit the North Korean capital Pyongyang after the summer.
More importantly, they agreed to hold talks which involve China and the US – perhaps a harbinger of a Kim-Trump summit in May.
China welcomed the apparent rapprochement between the two Koreas and said it hoped for a political resolution of the recent crisis.
Read more: North Korea Has No Choice But to Back Down
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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