Although the meeting was billed as a spontaneous or impromptu meeting , Kim and Trump had exchanged letters earlier in the month . Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University said it was " inconceivable that the leaders of two powerful nations had arranged a meeting at such short notice and described the meeting as " a prearranged event . " Following the conclusions of the 2019 G20 Osaka summit in Japan , on June 30 , 2019 , Trump and South Korean president Moon Jae-in visited the DMZ before the meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un . Kim invited Trump to cross the border line , and both men briefly crossed in North Korea before crossing back into South Korea . Trump thus became the first U.S. president to enter North Korea . Before crossing into North Korea , Kim told Trump , " it 's good to see you again " and " I never expected to meet you at this place " , and shook hands with Trump . Trump said it was " my honor " to enter North Korea . During their meeting , Trump also invited Kim to the White House , although later acknowledged that this would probably not occur in the near term . Trump said of Kim : " A lot of really great things are happening , tremendous things . We met and we liked each other from Day One , and that was very important . " Moon later joined Trump and Kim , and the three spoke for a brief moment before Kim and Trump held a 53-minute-long private meeting inside the Freedom House
2019 G20 Osaka summit
2019 G20 Osaka summit
2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit