The leaders of North and South Korea embraced after pledging to work for the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", on a day of smiles and handshakes at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade.
The two Koreas announced on Friday they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War and seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace.
The declaration included promises to pursue phased arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone and seek multilateral talks with other countries including the United States.
"The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun," the declaration said.
Kim Jong-un's message that he wrote in the Peace House visitor's book. Source: AAP
South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to visit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this year, they said.
Earlier, North Korea's Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border in the heavily fortified demilitarised zone.
Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last year's barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of war.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in's historic handshake. Source: AAP
Their meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump in what would be the first ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries.
Trump welcomed the Korean talks.
"After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" he said on Twitter.
China welcomed the leaders' statement and said it was willing to keep playing a proactive role in promoting political solutions on the peninsula.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also welcomed the summit and said he expected North Korea to take concrete steps to carry out its promises.
Global markets were lifted by hopes the summit would pave the way for the end of conflict on the Korean peninsula. Shares in Seoul briefly rose more than 1 per cent to a one-month high and Japan's Nikkei share average also gained.
As part of efforts to reduce tension, the two sides agreed to open a liaison office, stop propaganda broadcasts and leaflet drops along the border and allow Korean families divided by the border to meet.
Days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site.
But there has been widespread scepticism about whether Kim is ready to abandon the nuclear arsenal his country has developed for decades, justifying it as a necessary deterrent against US invasion.
Earlier, Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line where the men smiled and shook hands.
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