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It marked the beginning of a landmark summit, the first meeting of the leaders of North and South Korea in over a decade, with broad implications for the world.
Shaking hands with Moon Jae-in, while standing in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two countries, Kim told the South Korean President he felt the weight of meeting at "such a historic location."
"It was a very courageous decision for you to come all the way here," Moon replied.
The highly-choreographed summit is the result of months of diplomatic talks between the North and the South and every moment has been laden with symbolism and history by organizers.
But in a rare unscripted moment right after their first meeting on the demarcation line, Kim invited Moon to step into the northern side of the DMZ. "Maybe this is the right time for you to enter North Korean territory," Kim said to Moon, who took him up on the invitation.
South Korean viewers in Seoul erupted at the warm greeting between Kim and Moon, with residents gathered around television screens across the city applauding and cheering.
"I didn't think I would be able to see such things happening in my life. I am happy to be witness to history in the making," local resident Kwak Eun-jung told CNN.
'A new history begins now'
The grand ceremony of the day began early in the Koreas when Moon's motorcade from Seoul to the DMZ was tracked the entire way by helicopters live broadcasting the journey.
Crowds of supporters, holding signs calling for denuclearization, waved off the South Korean President as he left his residence in Seoul.
Hours later, sitting at a specially designed table surrounded by the political elite of North and South Korea, Kim said he wanted to write a new chapter in Korean relations.
"As I walked over here, I thought 'why was it so difficult to get here?' The separating line wasn't even that high to cross. It was too easy to walk over that line and it took us 11 years to get here," Kim told Moon and the gathered officials.
Writing in a visitor's book upon entering the Peace House, where negotiations are taking place, Kim wrote "a new history begins now" and "an age of peace, at the starting point of history."
Moon praised Kim's "courageous and bold decision" to sit down for talks during their morning meeting. "Over the past seven decades we weren't able to communicate, so I think we can talk the whole day today", Moon said, drawing laughs from Kim.
In a White House statement issued on Friday morning, the Trump administration said it hoped the talks "will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula."
'Peace, a new start'
The meeting has been highly anticipated in South Korea as a possible opportunity to discuss a peace treaty between the two countries.
Although hostilities for the Korean War finished in 1953, with the signing of the armistice, no official agreement ending the war was ever signed.
Huge banners have been displayed across the South Korean capital of Seoul proclaiming "Peace, a new start" amid speculation the two leaders could discuss signing an official peace treaty finally ending the Korean War.
Kim received a full welcoming ceremony, including a military band in traditional dress which played the Korean folk song "arirang," well known in both North and South Korea.
The North Korean leader would "open-heartedly discuss" all the issues with Moon, and was entering talks with the hope of "achieving peace prosperity and reunification of the Korean Peninsula," North Korean state media KCNA said.
However, stakes are high and some observers are doubtful the two sides can bridge the gap created by more than 60 years of antagonism and suspicion.
Additionally, despite Kim's efforts to strike an affable and diplomatic image, he has a long and appalling human rights record in his own country.
A United Nations report in March said North Korea left "people at the mercy of unaccountable public officials" and denounced Kim's extensive and brutal system of prison camps.
Kim's arsenal
Officials across the world, especially in the United States, will be paying close attention to any specific agreements by Kim relating to his nuclear arsenal.
Japan's Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said the North Koreans needed to make clear commitments on its nuclear and missile programs. "I would like to keep close eyes on ... this summit and find out if it is leading to concrete action," he said on Friday morning.
While Moon has laid down the groundwork for a potential peaceful coexistence with North Korea, it is up to Pyongyang and Washington to continue his work, Adam Mount, senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, told CNN.
"The success of this summit will not be known today but will depend on the reactions from Washington and Pyongyang over the coming days and weeks. North Korean cheating and US ambivalence has caused the collapse of all previous openings," he said.
CNN's James Griffiths reported from South Korea, Ben Westcott wrote and reported from Hong Kong. CNN's Josh Berlinger, Katie Hunt and Stella Ko contributed to this story.