Kim Jong Un joked that he'd no longer 'interrupt' the South Korean president's sleep with early-morning missile tests

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April 27, 2018 10:23 AM

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday at the truce village of Panmunjom.

During an inter-Korean summit on Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un suggested he would stop missile tests, which he joked were interrupting South Korean President Moon Jae-in's sleep.
Kim pledged last week to halt North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.
Kim and Moon put on a show of unity and friendship at their summit.

Kim Jong Un joked at a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday that he would no longer interrupt Moon's sleep with missile tests.

The Associated Press quoted a spokesman for South Korea's government as saying Kim told Moon he wouldn't "interrupt your early-morning sleep anymore."

North Korea launched at least 23 short-to-medium-range missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles last year; one of them flew over Japan. The country is said to have tested a hydrogen bomb in September.

Kim last week pledged to stop nuclear and missile tests and the use of a nuclear test site, though experts have speculated that it could mean North Korea has developed its nuclear weapons to the point that it no longer needs to test them.

The US and South Korea's goal is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Friday's summit was peppered with jokes and spontaneous asides as the two leaders put on a show of unity and friendship.

The leaders of North Korea and South Korea last met in 2007.

As Kim stepped over the military demarcation line to enter South Korea — a first for a North Korean leader — he said the line was "actually too easy to get over" but noted that "it took us 11 years to get here."

The two leaders discussed a visit to North Korea for Moon, though Kim said such a trip might be uncomfortable for Moon because his country's transport system was not as advanced as the one in South Korea, the AP reported.

Moon replied that North Koreans would be able to enjoy the South's high-speed trains if the two countries had warmer relations and connected their rail networks, according to the AP.

Friday wasn't the first time Kim joked about interrupting Moon's sleep.

When South Korean officials visited Pyongyang earlier this year, Kim jokingly said he "decided today" to freeze missile tests "so he will not lose sleep anymore," CNN reported, citing a South Korean presidential official.

Read Business Insider's full coverage of the inter-Korean summit »

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