The two Koreas agreed yesterday to get rid of nuclear weapons on the peninsula but did not put forward specific measures to achieve this.

A joint statement issued after the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the two countries confirmed their goal of achieving "a Korean nuclear-weapon-free peninsula through complete denuclearization."

"We will actively cooperate to establish a permanent and stable peace system," the two presidents said.

"The two parties agree to fulfill their roles and responsibilities, as both countries recognize that North Korea's efforts to denuclearize the peninsula are of significant importance and are a major step forward," the document states.

North Korea would thus show its willingness to negotiate with its nuclear arsenal. In the past, he used the term "denuclearisation" to mean that it would be disarmed only when the United States withdrew the 28 500 troops it has deployed in South Korea.

The communiqué did not indicate what other concrete steps Pyongyang will take towards disarmament.

In the morning session of the 100-minute meeting, they "talked about denuclearization and peacemaking on the peninsula and about improving relations" between the two countries, which are technically still at war, South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan said.

All attention was focused on this joint statement and whether it would include any kind of commitment or allusion to the dismantling of the North Korean nuclear programme, after the regime had shown its willingness to talk about the possible abandonment of its nuclear weapons.

The only precedent in this regard dates back to 1992, when the two countries signed a declaration committing themselves to maintaining a nuclear-weapon-free peninsula, an agreement that was not implemented due to disagreements over how to verify compliance and was marred by the subsequent development of Pyongyang's weapons programme.

Yoon also announced that the North Korean First Lady, Ri Sol-ju, will attend the banquet at Peace House, the summit's main venue, and that her South Korean counterpart, Kim Jung-sook, will also attend.

Friday's historic summit was the first meeting between the two leaders and the first time that a North Korean leader stepped on southern territory, as the meeting was held on the southern fringe of the Joint Security Zone (JSA), the only border crossing point where soldiers from both countries face each other.