LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: A first today on the Korean peninsula, the leaders of North and South Korea have finally met and have started an unprecedented summit. CNN's Mike Chinoy has more.</s>MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A moment many in this peninsula have dreamed of, but almost no one ever thought possible, the president of South Korea meeting the leader of North Korea. A handshake at Pyonyang Airport bridging a gulf of hostility dating back decades. For North Korea's Kim Jung Il, it was an astonishing gesture, long one of the world's most reclusive leaders, he suddenly emerged from the organized crowds of well wishers to greet South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, his appearance a total surprise, even members of the South Korean president's entourage weren't sure it would happen like this. As TV viewers in the South and around the world watched, the two men smiled and chatted, the cordial atmosphere a stunning counterpoint to a history of violence which began exactly 50 years ago this month at the start of the Korean War. Now, North Korean military bodyguards were protecting the leader of a government that had been Pyonyang's mortal enemy for decades. While the citizens of Pyonyang gathered for a lavish state welcome of the kind that North Korea hasn't staged in years. Before leaving Seoul, President Kim Dae-jung said that security, economic cooperation, family reunions and unification would all be topics for discussion. The South Korean leader warned that not all problems could be solved in one visit, and he declared he was going to Pyonyang with a cool head, but with a warm heart, a warmth reciprocated by his unprecedented reception. The two leaders got into the same car for the drive into the North Korean capital, the streets lined with thousands of cheering citizens. (on camera): A handshake alone is not going to erase decades of tension and hostility, but the fact that leaders of government that have been bitter enemies for so many years are at last sitting down and talking could represent a fundamental change on the Korean peninsula. Mike Chinoy, CNN, Seoul.
North, South Korean Leaders Begin Landmark Summit