Trump-Kim summit highlights: European Union hails talks as 'crucial and necessary step'

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General AntonioGuterrestoday welcomed the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader KimJongUn as "an important milestone" toward thedenuclearizationof the Korean peninsula,PTIhas reported.

Guterresurged all those concerned to "seize this momentous opportunity" and again offered UN help to achieve the goal of dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The summit held in Singapore was "an important milestone in the advancement of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiabledenuclearizationon the Korean peninsula,"Guterressaid in a statement.

Donald Trump today played a Hollywood-style video to Kim Jong-un, which depicted the North Korean leader and the US president as its leading men, showing the prospect of peace, PTI has reported.

The video made a dramatic pitch for the benefits of peace between the two Cold war-era rivals laying out the opportunities that could come with an agreement to eliminate North Korea's nuclear arsenal, a story about "two men, two leaders, one destiny."

Trump played the video in Korean to the North Korean leader and eight aides at their private bilateral meeting, The Straits Times reported.

When asked about the video montage played ahead of the press conference, Trump said: "We had it made... I hope you liked it. I thought it was interesting enough to show... and I showed it to him (Kim) today towards the end of the meeting and I think he loved it," the report said.

The film drew on the "in a world" and "one man, one choice" framing of Hollywood action movies.

South Koreans erupted in applause today as Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met for what local media billed as the "talks of the century", according to a PTI report.

As the historic first meeting between a sitting US president and North Korean leader began in Singapore, images of Trump and Kim exchanging handshakes and warm words drew jubilant reactions in Seoul and hopes for a new beginning with Pyongyang.

"We hope the summit will be a success and bring us a complete denuclearisation, peace and a new era" in relations between the two Koreas and the United States, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said.

The EU has praised the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a "crucial and necessary step", saying it indicated "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula could be achieved, according to a PTI report.

"This summit was a crucial and necessary step to build upon the positive developments achieved in inter-Korean relations and on the peninsula so far," the EU's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

Donald Trumphas agreed to suspend military exercises with ally South Korea in return for a commitment to denuclearisation from Kim Jong-un, according to a report by The Guardian. Trump added that the war games were expensive and “very provocative”.

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog welcomed today the statement issued by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the end of their summit in Singapore.

"I welcome today's Joint Statement of President Trump of the United States and Chairman Kim of the DPRK at the Singapore Summit which includes the DPRK's commitment towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement.

"The IAEA stands ready to undertake any verification activities in the DPRK that it may be requested to conduct by the countries concerned," the statement adds. (PTI)

An 80-year-old teak wood table previously used by Singapore's Chief Justices played a part in today's historic summit, PTI has reported.

The two leaders and their delegations sat at the historic table during the delegation-level meeting at Capella Singapore hotel in Sentosa Island.

Later, Trump and Kim signed a joint statement at the 4.3 m-long table, designed in 1939 by local craftsmen for the Supreme Court. The table is on loan to the US Embassy for the summit, and is usually on display on the Chief Justice's chamber on the third floor of the Singapore National Gallery, The Straits Times reported.

US President Donald Trump has departed from Singapore, news organisations have reported.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has issued a statement calling the Trump-Kim summit as “historic”, according to The Guardian.

In a statement, Moon warns there may be “many difficulties ahead, but we will never go back to the past again”.

Moon says Kim will be “remembered as a leader who made a historic moment by taking the first bold step toward the world”.

“Building upon the agreement reached today, we will take a new path going forward. Leaving dark days of war and conflict behind, we will write a new chapter of peace and cooperation,” he added.

India today welcomed the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, calling it a positive development.

In its reaction, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) at the same time hoped that any resolution to the North Korean "peninsula issue" will address New Delhi's concerns about Pyongyang's proliferation linkages with India's neighbourhood, seen as an apparent reference to Pakistan.

India has been pressing for a probe into North Korea's proliferation linkages with India's neighbourhood, PTI has reported.

"India welcomes the United States-DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Summit held in Singapore. This is a positive development. India has always supported all efforts to bring about peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy," the MEA said in a statement.

Trump and Kim signed a "very comprehensive" document after their summit in Singapore. After the talks, the US president said that the process of denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula will begin "very soon" and the North Korean leader promised to leave the past behind.

US President Donald Trump said he brought Kim to the table by showing him what the future could look like should he choose the path of peace: "Instead of [testing missiles] you could have the best hotels in the world right there. Think of it from a real estate perspective," he reportedly told the North Korean leader.

"India welcomes the United States - DPRK Summit held in Singapore. This is a positive development. India has always supported all efforts to bring about peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy," says the Ministry of External Affairs

"I think this meeting was good for United States as it was for North Korea. Only a person who hates Donald Trump would say that I have agreed to make a big commitment. Yes, it was a big commitment to meet Kim. But, it was good for us," says US President Donald Trump