Moon Jae-in touches down in Pyongyang ahead of LANDMARK SUMMIT with Kim Jong-un

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, landed in Pyongyang on Tuesday morning for their third summit this year.

The two leaders hugged each other as they met at Sunan International Airport.

The pair were also greeted by tens-of-thousands of North Koreans who were waving North Korean flags, flowers and a blue-and-white map which symbolises the unification of the two countries.

The visit is expected to last three days.

KCNA, North Korea’s state-run news outlet, said: “South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit Pyongyang from September 18 to 20 for the historic North-South summit.

“The Pyongyang summit aimed at implementing the Panmunjom declaration for peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula will offer an important opportunity in further accelerating the development of inter-Korean relations that is making a new history.”

Mr Moon said he is hoping for “irreversible, permanent peace” as well as better dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington during “heart-to-heart” talks with the dictator.

Ahead of the summit, Mr Moon tweeted: “What I want to achieve is peace.

“Not a tentative change which could be volatile dependent on international situation, but irreversible, permanent and unwavering peace, regardless of what might happen on the global arena.”

Both leaders want Donald Trump to sign off on officially ending the Korean War, which continues because no peace treaty has ever been signed.

Mr Moon will also focus on easing military tensions and bringing denuclearisation issues to light.

Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled and questions have been raised about how serious the North Korean leader is about adhering to his commitments to denuclearise.

Officials in the South insist Chairman Kim has promised to denuclearise North Korea by the end of Trump’s first term as President in 2021.

But National Security Adviser John Bolton said: “President Trump can’t make the North Koreans walk through the door he’s holding open.”

The South Korean President is bringing an entourage that includes K-pop stars and nearly a dozen business leaders, including Jay Y Lee, the head of Samsung.

Mr Moon is the first South Korean President to visit North Korea in over a decade and only the third leader to visit Pyongyang for a summit between the two countries since the end of Second World War.