welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top story this hour: hand in hand, the leaders of north and south korea meet for the first summit between the two countries in more than a decade. kim jong—un becomes the first north korean leader to visit the south since the war ended 65 years ago. the two men are now locked in talks, with pyongyang's nuclear ambitions expected to top the agenda. an historic meeting is under way right now between north korea's kimjong—un and south korea's president moonjae—in. the two leaders greeted each other with a handshake at the military demarcation line that divides the peninsula.

it's the first time a leader from the north has crossed into the south since the end of the korean war, 65 years ago. the summit is focusing on trying to reach a peace deal to officially end the war — and persuade mr kim to give up his nuclear weapons. it's uncertain how they will reach an agreement on north korea's nuclear weapons programme. andrew plant starts our coverage. a north korean leader setting foot in south korea for the first time since the korean war, more than 65 years before. kim jong—un shaking hands with the president of south korea, the start of a historic meeting with international interest high, in a secretive regime that's suddenly, seemingly more accessible. this is where the two leaders are meeting. the border village of panmunjom, between the two territories. the finest details already defined. they will face each other across 2018 millimetres

a symbol of reconciliation designed to reflect the summit‘s slogan — peace, a new start. we should have a positive meeting, he says and positive results, going forward we should beat up more frequently and then we can make up for lost time. the world's major powers will be watching. north korea's nuclear programme part of the focus, kim jong—un has indicated a willingness to stop testing, but will that translate to an end to its weapons programme or is this part of north korea's entrance onto the international stage as an established nuclear power? proposed talks with president trump could come in the future, a meeting with the chinese leader has already happened. today's meeting, the result

of months of improving relations between north and south, two countries still technically at war. it will end with a treeplanting ceremony, the delegates will then share a dinner. after years of increasing tension between the two countries, a relatively sudden softening and many will hope a more open and receptive north korea. andrew plant, bbc news. live to south korea and our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes. with all the caveat here, the worries about wishful thinking. still, given the history and the events of the last few months, this is an extraordinary and historic moment. that is right. those pictures speak for themselves. kim jong—un striding across the dividing line onto south korean territory for the first time and then grabbing president moonjae—in‘s

the first time and then grabbing president moon jae—in‘s hand the first time and then grabbing president moonjae—in‘s hand and stepping back into north korea, holding hands together then back into the south onto the carpet with a military guard. these are extraordinary scenes at any time, but when you think that just a extraordinary scenes at any time, but when you think thatjust a a few months ago it felt like this part of the world was on the verge of a military conflict. i myself remember last november standing on the deck ofan last november standing on the deck of an american aircraft carrier off the coast of south korea, three carrier battle groups, everybody was talking about the potential of a military strike on the here we are today with two leaders sitting down, a p pa re ntly today with two leaders sitting down, apparently getting along well, laughing together, smiling together. certainly the visuals are very powerful and the mood is optimistic. of course, behind all this there very, very cool, it difficult issues to sort out. what does north korea one out of this? what does the south wa nt one out of this? what does the south want out of it and what are the chances of something meaningful? we

are always engaging in educating guesses when it comes to what north korea wants. the cynics would say that kim jong—un is looking for ways to ease sanctions on his regime, a path to dialogue that would get him out of this very difficult corner he has been in, with notjust the potential military strike from america but very tough sanctions, including sanctions from china which have not fully join including sanctions from china which have not fullyjoin sanctions up until the end of last year. for south korea, it is all about peace. is is south korea, it is all about peace. isisa south korea, it is all about peace. is is a country that is really yearning for the end to the war, for an end to the threat that looms over it. but everybody realistically thinks this isjust it. but everybody realistically thinks this is just the beginning it. but everybody realistically thinks this isjust the beginning of what will be a long and difficult process if it is to succeed at all and that it could fall apart at any stage, as it has after previous summits in 2007 and 2000 when there was a lot of hope at that time but it didn't go anywhere in the end. was a lot of hope at that time but it didn't go anywhere in the endlj know you have to be off to give your

insights on any outlet. for the moment, thank you very much. —— other outlets. as we've been hearing, kim jong—un and moonjae—in have been holding a news conference. the north korean leader said the summit heralded "an age of peace" and the beginning of a "new history" for the korean peninsula. we should have a positive meeting and positive results out of this meeting. and going forward, we should be determined and we should make use of as much time possible and we should meet as often as possible. and if we can get our heads together then the ii possible. and if we can get our heads together then the 11 years lost ca n heads together then the 11 years lost can be made up. 200 metres,

that was the crossing line and i had so that was the crossing line and i had so many thoughts while crossing the demarcation line. and this is more like a starting line, firing the start of the race, i should say. and if we can open our hearts to speak and if we can draw a positive result from this meeting, that would be good. and instead of going back to the kuring board, we should move forward. —— drawing board. and if we can hold our hands together and move

forward. i think so much talk about what is going on about the dinner party this evening and if you could enjoy the pyongyang glass noodles. hope you can enjoy the pyongyang glass noodle. and we can talk seriously and honestly and we can talk about the things —— good things. we need to talk about what is necessary. and i would like to say this in front of mr president and all the others as well. we shouldn't forget how extraordinary it is to hear him talking on and why

tv. -- it is to hear him talking on and why tv. —— live tv. south korea's moon jae—in congratulated mr kim for what he called ‘a brave decision‘ to meet. and i think we should celebrate the meeting between us and spring may have arrived on the korean potential to make pinning chiller —— korean peninsula. in the world is watching this meeting and the people of south korea and north korea and compatriots all over the world, they are watching and so much burden on our shoulders between us to back. —— two. you are the first one who crossed the demarcation line, the committee chairperson, this is like a symbol of peace. and the expectations of all of the world are

on us. expectations of all of the world are on us. and i would like to give my thanks to the brave decision you made. and if we could make brave decisions together and then we could make a successful meeting and we have 20 or time to talk about —— plenty of time to talk about. and if we can discuss things in detail as well, at yeah, thank you. ahead of the summit, our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes sat down with south korea's first vice foreign minister to hear seoul's expectations for the talks. well, just in recent years, think

about what happened on the korean peninsula. multiple launches of missiles, nuclear testing is by the north koreans. like out of the blue, we are beginning the process of engagement, we are talking to them face—to—face, there will be the first summit meeting between president moonjae—in first summit meeting between president moon jae—in and first summit meeting between president moonjae—in and kim jong—unin president moonjae—in and kim jong—un in panmunjom. president moonjae—in and kim jong-un in panmunjom. critics of your government might say there is quite a lot of wishful thinking involved, because essentially, apart from some statements, kim jong—un and has really given up nothing in order to get to the summit. well, i believe still the announcement made by pyongyang on the 20th of april, which includes the suspension of the nuclear testing and missile launchers, as well as the shutdown of the nuclear testing site in the

northern part of north korea speaks volumes about the direction in which the north koreans will go in terms of denuclearisation and when they come to talks with us and the americans. are of course we will not come to any conclusions regarding the denuclearisation. we will be serious, we will be very stubborn and talking with the north koreans of the importance of the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. president trump will follow friday's summit with a summit of his own. a lot of people are very surprised that he agreed to this. how surprised was your government? well personally, i was not surprised. because in a sense, president trump has been very clear from the beginning that there could bea from the beginning that there could be a different path for the regime in coming and. he was talking over a

hamburger over a leader in pyongyang, he was sending a balanced signal indicating a crisis on the one hand, but indicating a com pletely one hand, but indicating a completely different future, com pletely completely different future, completely different future, completely different avenue for the future of north korea on the other hand. so when president trump was accepting the proposal of the talks between the dprk and the us, i don't think i was surprised. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: what do north koreans, who've defected to the south, make of the summit talks and the chances of peace? we'll find out. nothing it seems was too big to

withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally there have already been protest, it says it received no warning of the accident. the russians had first denied anything had corner wrong, it was only when radioactive level started to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. —— dawn wrong. —— gone wrong. for the mujahideen, the mood is of great celebration. this is the end ofa12 great celebration. this is the end of a 12 year war, they have taken the capital, which they have fought for so long. it was 7am in the morning, the day when power started to pass from the minority —— majority to minority,. the latest headlines:

the leaders of north and south korea are meeting for the first summit between the two countries in more than a decade. live to south korea and our correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes. thank you. we are here on the edge of the dmz which you can see behind me where the summit between kim jong—un and racket three is going on behind closed doors. many people all over the world will be watching what is going on in this summit today —— moonjae—in. none is going on in this summit today —— moon jae—in. none more is going on in this summit today —— moonjae—in. none more closely than the professional north korea watching community in south korea, like professorjohn. those images we

saw today of kim jong—un stepping across the line and shaking hands with president macri three. we heard the friendly words they had for each other. —— moonjae—in. the friendly words they had for each other. -- moon jae-in. you brought up other. -- moon jae-in. you brought up experts. this kind of event reminds you not to lose your capacity to be surprised. no one was anticipating this even a few months ago. this opens up possibilities beyond our imagining. as an expert i have to slow down and wait and watch. we will nitpick every word of any declaration comes out. we will look for keywords, especially on denuclearisation. reels are different from previous ones. this is more than optics, there is deep

symbolism for the two koreas addressing the division on this peninsula. it has a special meaning for people in the north and south. it is an historic day. you talked about the wording of the declaration. there will be a declaration. there will be a declaration released. everyone will wait for the wording of that. how important is it there is some commitment from kim jong—un to some sort of denuclearisation?” commitment from kim jong—un to some sort of denuclearisation? i am not in the mainstream. i think it is less important than we all think. if it is not in there, we'll get a whole bunch of reasons why not. that is feasible. they really talk about that with the americans. there is a summit with donald trump coming up. it does not matter if he does not say it this time. but if you see the word denuclearisation, sceptics will say north korea have said denuclearisation before. they said

it in 1992 denuclearisation before. they said it in1992 and denuclearisation before. they said it in 1992 and it meant nothing. we have different definitions of denuclearisation. we have this problem operating from assumptions. whatever evidence we see, we fit that toured pattern we already have going into the event. —— tour. this isa going into the event. —— tour. this is a problem dealing with north korea. the wording is not the critical issue. that is what is the chemistry between moonjae—in and kimjong—un? can chemistry between moonjae—in and kim jong—un? can they work together? how do they set up further progress in terms of going forward and also be summit with donald trump and getting into the issue. donald trump has spoken favourably in the last few days of having a quick summit. i have suggested previously that this summit really is a stepping stone to the bigger prize. is that right?|j think that is right. it is hard

right now, the way this summit has been approached and constructive. even from the south korean perspective. they are constantly leaking this summit with the next one. “— leaking this summit with the next one. —— linking. moonjae—in will go to washington to confer with donald trump. south koreans do not want to move further ahead than the americans. they want to be in lockstep. these summits are of a pair. a stepping stone is a valid concept for it. that said, if you get a constructive meeting between kim jong—un get a constructive meeting between kimjong—un and get a constructive meeting between kim jong—un and donald trump, get a constructive meeting between kimjong—un and donald trump, a good summit, what are the foundation we have from here with the two koreas, it will come into play. this has some intrinsic meaning for itself, especially to the two koreas, but they are inextricably linked. everyone in the region has said

denuclearisation is fundamental, america, japan, china. very briefly, we are running out of time, will kim jong—un give up nuclear weapons? we are running out of time, will kim jong-un give up nuclear weapons? the real a nswer jong-un give up nuclear weapons? the real answer is we do not know until they all meet, especially donald trump. the answer to that question was in the room, and will be in the room with donald trump and kim jong—un. both sides have good argument is. thank you. -- arguments. we will be here all day. everyone will be watching the atmosphere and the wording and the wording of the declaration when it comes out possibly some time this evening when they had backed the capitals respectively. —— back to capitals. the white house released these photos a short while ago showing

mike pompeo. he wasjust photos a short while ago showing mike pompeo. he was just confirmed as us secretary of state. he was head of the cia. he met with kim jong—un over easter. it was secret but now it has been revealed. today's meeting between the leaders of north and south korea could pave the way for further talks with donald trump. this is a great opportunity. it is bizarre, but i am happy. with all the talk about spring, i hope it will finally arrive on the korean peninsula. hello. i came will finally arrive on the korean peninsula. hello. icame to will finally arrive on the korean peninsula. hello. i came to south korea in august, 2016. hello. i am originally from a northern province.

ijust graduated from university and lam ijust graduated from university and i am looking for work.|j ijust graduated from university and i am looking for work. i cannot believe this summit is happening. it isa believe this summit is happening. it is a bit surreal. things are moving so is a bit surreal. things are moving so quickly. ijust have to accept it. i feel so quickly. ijust have to accept it. ifeel president so quickly. ijust have to accept it. i feel president moon so quickly. ijust have to accept it. ifeel president moon is so quickly. ijust have to accept it. i feel president moon is doing a greatjob and it. i feel president moon is doing a great job and support it. i feel president moon is doing a greatjob and support his decisions. the young generations from north and south korea came together to unite ina club south korea came together to unite in a club called spring. i really hope this summit will produce positive results. i do not think the north suddenly chose to have the summit. a plan was formed a long time ago. i did not know what to believe. to be perfectly honest, i don't fully trust north korea. last

year we we re don't fully trust north korea. last year we were facing a military conflict. to see relations change so quickly, it is a bit concerning and also frightening. there were summit in the past with progress made. but afterwards, north korea changed its mind. the situationjust afterwards, north korea changed its mind. the situation just turned upside down. likewise, i think there are similar dangers now. in past summits, ithink are similar dangers now. in past summits, i think preparations were rushed. this time, deeperthought has been put into improving relations. there has been lots of planning. i have high hopes the talks will be successful. north korea seems to have made a bold move. it is quite a big change from its isolationist past. i hope the

leaders will talk about reunification. i wish to return to north korea and want to meet the family of my mother. it is human instinct to cherish your home. i i miss my hometown. life was difficult, but i still miss it. my family is buried in north korea. would like to go back to pay my respects one day. i hope for a chance when people can travel freely. i have friends from the north who want to start businesses. i was lucky to come to south korea and see a bigger world. i want to tell those back in the north that what they know and what they have learned may not be everything. in fa ct, learned may not be everything. in fact, i want to tell them a lot of it is false. that is my message.

north korean defectors speaking to the bbc‘s korean service. a reminder of the main news. the north korean leader, kim jong—un, has said the first summit between the two koreas for more than ten years will be a starting signal for a new history. he hasjust he has just begun talks with the president of south korea, moon jae—in. mr moon said he was looking for a bold agreement in the talks, which are expected to focus on denuclearisation of the korean peninsula and bringing an official end to the korean war. they are still officially at war. earlier kim jong—un became the first north korean leader to step on to south korean soil when he walked across the military demarcation line to be formally met by mr moon. there is much more on all the other international news stories on our website. thank you for watching. hello there. it's been getting cooler day by day through this week and by the weekend, temperatures

will be below the seasonal average, wet, cold and windy late on sunday. more on that in just a moment. we start friday on quite a chilly note, some areas a touch of frost in scotland but south, not quite as cold because we have this area of low pressure and outbreaks of rain. quite wet start across south—west england in towards south wales. the rain starting to push its way into northern and eastern parts of england as the morning wears on where as further north, it will start bright with plenty of sunshine. that rain will be in bands moving its way northwards across most of england and wales into the afternoon. a few drier interludes, quite strong winds across the channel through the channel islands for cornwall and the scilly isles, gusting up to 40mph. rain heavy into the afternoon. further north, the best of the sunshine in the far north of england and scotland. heavy showers. quite cool. temperatures of 9—13 celsius. certainly cool near the east coast. as we had through friday evening and overnight, the rain peters out. further north and west, you can see clear skies with another chilly night. into the weekend, it doesn't look too bad, particularly northern and western parts of the uk. sunshine and showers,

quite cool in that northerly breeze. that wet and windy weather arriving. this is the picture to saturday. a damp start across the south—east, some spells of light rain, low cloud, mist and murk. a bit of an improvement but the best of the sun shone across the north and west with a few heavy slow—moving boundary showers. cool again for the time of year. 9—12 celsius, particuarly cool across northerna nd eastern coasts. sunday as well. dry around, variable cloud, a bit of sunshine again, a few heavy showers in the north. tater in the day, the wind begins to pick up across the south—east with outbreaks of rain and those temperatures again, 9—11 celsius. chilly for late april. the wet and windy weather in the south—east associated with this area of low pressure moving north out of the near continent. it's going to bring some atrocious conditions to much of the south and the east into monday. heavy, persistent rain, standing water, gale—force, northerly winds, gusting 50 or 60mp and it's going to feel cold. even a little bit of wintriness over the higher ground here. a bit of uncertainty towards the western extent but it looks like the north and western areas will see the best of the brightness. but it's going to be a cool day across the board.

this is bbc news. the headlines — north and south korea have begun their first summit in more than 10 years. walking across the demarcation line, the official land border, to be met by president moonjae—in, kim jong—un became the first north korean leader to step onto southern soil since the end of the korean war, 65 years ago. in a statement, the white house has wished the korean people well and talked again of a summit with president trump. the american comedian and entertainer bill cosby has been found guilty of drugging and molesting a woman at his home in philadelphia in 200a. cosby, who's 80, could now face a prison sentence of up to 30 years

and spend the rest of his life behind bars. facebook has admitted it didn't read the terms and conditions of a personality test app it allowed on its site. it was used to harvest the data of 87 million people by cambridge analytica, the consultancy accused of using it to influence political campaigns, including the us presidential election. you're up to date with the headlines. now on bbc news, it's panorama. corruption is huge, it's the number one problem in ukraine. it's kind of a cancer, a tumour inside the country. ukraine is a classical mafia state. there is almost no space beyond corruption. it's all filled by corruption. have you been using london to launder dirty money?

mr trukhanov? it's very easy to get dirty money into the uk if you have the right connections.