US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has touted his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and praised his government for the “tremendous progress” with North Korea, after an inter-Korean summit offered some apparent concessions from the North on its weapons program.

Mr Trump said a recent letter from Kim confirmed the positive track, which he said has seen the hardline communist country promise to halt its nuclear missile test program and mount a combined bid with South Korea for the 2032 Olympic Games.

“We’re making tremendous progress with respect to North Korea. Prior to becoming president, it looked like we were going to war with North Korea and now we have a lot of progress,” he told journalists at the White House.

“A lot of tremendous things but very importantly no missile testing, no nuclear testing.

“The relationships, I have to tell you, at least on a personal basis, are very good. It is very much calmed down.”

Following talks in Pyongyang, the leaders of North and South Korea announced a wide range of agreements on Wednesday (local time), which they said were a major step toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

But the premier pledge on denuclearisation contained a big condition, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stating he’d permanently dismantle his main nuclear complex only if the United States takes unspecified corresponding measures.

Mr Trump didn’t indicate in his brief remarks to reporters whether the US would be willing to take further steps to encourage North Korean action on denuclearisation.

Compared to the vague language of their two summits earlier this year, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed in their second day of meetings to an ambitious program meant to tackle soaring tensions last year that had many fearing war as the North tested a string of increasingly powerful weapons.

Kim promised to accept international inspectors to monitor the closing of a key missile test site and launch pad, and announced a plan to visit Seoul soon.

Both leaders then vowed to work together to try to host the Summer Olympics in 2032.

But while containing several tantalising offers, their joint statement appeared to fall short of the major steps many in Washington have been looking for — such as a commitment by Kim to provide a list of North Korea’s nuclear facilities, a solid step-by-step timeline for closing them down, or an agreement to allow international inspectors to assess progress or discover violations.

It also was unclear what “corresponding steps” North Korea wants from the US to dismantle its nuclear site.

The question now is whether it will be enough for Mr Trump to pick up where Moon has left off.

Declaring they had made a major step toward peace, Moon and Kim stood side-by-side as they announced their joint statement to a group of North and South Korean reporters after a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning. They took no questions.

“We have agreed to make the Korean Peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat,” Kim said at the guesthouse where Moon is staying.

“The road to our future will not always be smooth and we may face challenges and trials we can’t anticipate. But we aren’t afraid of headwinds because our strength will grow as we overcome each trial based on the strength of our nation.”

Kim and Moon earlier smiled and chatted as they walked down a hallway and into a meeting room to finalise the joint statement, which also said that the leaders would push for a Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons and to “eliminate all the danger of war.”

Kim has gone all out to make Moon’s visit a memorable one.

On Tuesday, the first day of the summit, he greeted Moon and his wife at Pyongyang’s airport and then rode into town with Moon in an open limousine through streets lined with crowds of North Koreans, who cheered and waved the flag of their country and a blue-and-white flag that symbolises Korean unity.

At the start of their meeting, Kim thanked Moon for brokering the June summit with Mr Trump.

“It’s not too much to say that it’s Moon’s efforts that arranged a historic North Korea-US summit. Because of that, the regional political situation has been stabilised and more progress on North Korea-US ties is expected,” Kim said, according to South Korean media pool reports and Moon’s office.

CHINA WELCOMES OUTCOME OF SUMMIT
China has welcomed the outcome of the inter-Korean summit and will continue supporting both sides in further talks on reducing tensions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday that China noted the positive effects of the meeting on easing military tensions and promoting peace talks and the denuclearisation process.

China is North Korea’s most important ally and has long called on its fellow communist neighbour to work toward disarmament and turn its focus to economic development. China hosted long-stalled six-nation denuclearisation talks and insists that its interests be respected in any long-term settlement. It has also strongly objected to South Korea’s deployment of an advanced US missile defence system that bolsters Washington’s military presence in Northeast Asia, saying it threatens China’s security.

Any move to reduce the North Korean missile threat may give it hope that the system could one day be removed.