North Korea hails Kim's role ahead of border summit
Kim Jong-un is hours from becoming North Korea's first leader to cross into the South since the 1950-53 Korean War
North Korea's state-run media declared Thursday that this week's breakthrough inter-Korean summit was made possible due to leader Kim Jong-un's "passionate love" for the peninsula's people.
Kim is to hold talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Friday in what will be the third ever meeting of its kind and the first since 2007.
"It is a historic event for national history made possible by our brisk efforts for dialogue and peace," the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper stated in an editorial.
Pyongyang's ruling party mouthpiece also commented that improving bilateral ties is needed "for the achievement of homeland unification".
The Moon-Kim summit is expected to focus on North Korea's denuclearization and a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War following decades of tensions amid an uneasy ceasefire.
South Korea additionally announced various plans for Friday's agenda.
The summit will get underway at 9.30 a.m., when Kim crosses the border to the south side of the inter-Korean joint security area at Panmunjom.
He will be joined by nine aides including his sister Kim Yo-jong among military and diplomatic officials, according to Moon's chief of staff Im Jong-seok.
Im told reporters the two leaders will then plant a tree on the military demarcation line featuring the title, "Plant peace and prosperity".
The summit events will close with a dinner comprising symbolic dishes from both sides.
Over a thousand media personnel from across the globe will be accommodated at a designated press center in South Korea.
