First-ever Koreas summit

The United States has welcomed the start of the first-ever talks between the leaders of North and South Korea.

A White House spokesman called it an extraordinarily important step, but he said it would be impossible to speculate on what the concrete results of the meeting might be.

At the end his first day in Pyongyang, the South Korean President, Kim Dae-jung, said his aim was to liberate the people of the peninsula from the fear of war.

He also called for transport links between the countries to be restored and South Korean spokesmen have said they hoped to establish a hot line between the two leaders.

But they warned the talks between Mr Kim and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, would only be the first step on a very long journey.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service