Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hopes the historic summit between North and South Korean leaders is not another "false dawn".
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un made history on Friday when he crossed over the world's most heavily-armed border to greet his rival, South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
It was the first time in more than a decade that leaders of the two countries had met, and only the third time leaders had met since the end of the Korean War.
Mr Turnbull cautiously welcomed the talks, and hopes it is a step towards ridding the peninsula of nuclear weapons.
"We have had false dawns before on the Korean peninsula," he told reporters in Perth.
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He has no plans to visit Korea in the foreseeable future but is closely monitoring developments.
The North Korean nuclear threat was a top issue of discussion during the prime minister's recent meetings with various European leaders.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop hopes North Korea will demonstrate verifiable steps to denuclearisation.
"I think we should maintain our expectations," she told reporters in Sydney.
"This is a first step, a preliminary step."
Ms Bishop was assured by her South Korean counterpart that Australia will receive a briefing on the meeting next week.
It was all smiles as Mr Moon grasped Mr Kim's hand and led him along a red carpet into South Korean territory, where school children placed flowers around their necks and an honour guard stood at attention.
Beyond the surface, however, it's still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress in closed-door talks on the nuclear issue.
Expectations are generally low, given past so-called breakthroughs on North Korea's weapons have collapsed amid acrimonious charges of cheating and bad faith.
