Easing tensions:South Korean soldiers, front, and North Korean soldiers at the military demarcation line.AFP-  

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and the South’s president Moon Jae-in will meet at the military demarcation line that divides the peninsula before their summit on Friday, Seoul said, in an occasion laden with symbolism.

Mr. Moon will greet his visitor at the concrete blocks that mark the border between the two Koreas in the demilitarised zone, the chief of the South’s presidential secretariat Im Jong-seok said.

When Mr. Kim steps over the line, he will become the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended 65 years ago.

The meeting will be only the third of its kind, following summits in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, and the high point so far of a rapid diplomatic rapprochement on the tension-wracked peninsula, ahead of a much-anticipated meeting between Mr. Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Nuclear issue

The North’s nuclear arsenal will be high on the agenda. Pyongyang has made rapid progress in its weapons development under Mr. Kim, who inherited power from his father in 2011.

Mr. Kim will be given a military guard of honour on Friday and the two leaders will walk to the Peace House, on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom where the summit will be held.

Mr. Kim will sign the guest book before the morning session starts, Mr. Im said, describing the occasion as a “summit for peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula”.