It has been billed as the Trump administration's biggest diplomatic breakthrough, with both the United States and North Korea claiming credit for what has long looked an unlikely detente.
But with a summit over the North's nuclear weapons programme now planned, the US has cautioned that nothing has yet been achieved.
Indeed it has emerged that President Donald Trump enlisted the help of China's Xi Jinping to keep sanctions pressure on North Korea.
Despite the US leader's optimistic Tweet, the White House stressed that the US would continue to keep "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang.
The two leaders in a telephone conversation on Friday committed to maintaining "pressure and sanctions until North Korea takes tangible steps toward complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation," said the White House.
As aides scrambled to catch up with Mr Trump's decision - taken before consulting key confidantes - the White House sent mixed messages about conditions for the talks.
"They've made promises to denuclearize, they've made promises to stop nuclear and missile testing," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
"We're not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea," she told reporters.
The US made "zero concessions" and "consistently increased the pressure" on Mr Kim, Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to meet with Kim.
North Korea's invitation for talks "is evidence that President Trump's strategy to isolate the Kim regime is working," Mr Pence said in a statement released by the White House.
Mr Trump's bombshell announcement follows months of volatile relations between the two warring factions, including North Korea scrapping a planned meeting with Mr Pence in February and tensions rising to their highest following a battery of missile tests by North Korea.
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Mr Trump threatened "fire and fury" if Pyongyang continued to threaten the US only for North Korea to carry out its sixth nuclear test.
But amidst boastful threats and juvenile insults the Winter Olympics in South Korea ushered in a renewed use of soft power, including a visit to the South by Mr Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong and Ivanka Trump's trip to the Pyeongchang Games. All of which has seemingly pacified the North, the South and the US.
According to two South Korean government sources, North Korea's Kim Jong Un joked about his image in international media on Monday while serving South Korean officials local spirits, including liquor made of ginseng and Pyongyang soju, several bottles of wine and cold noodles during their four-hour unprecedented visit to Pyongyang.
"The bottles kept coming," said an administrative source who had official knowledge of the meeting.
Mr Kim entertained the National Intelligence chief Suh Hoon and the head of National Security Chung Eui-Yong, telling them that President Moon could rest easy at night now that Pyongyang had decided not to carry out nuclear or missile tests while talks with the US were ongoing.
"President Moon has had a rough time chairing national security meetings at the break of dawn whenever we fired missiles," Mr Kim was cited as saying.
Last year Pyongyang carried out 20 ballistic missile tests, almost all of them in the early hours of the morning.
When the South Korean officials visited, no hard feelings were displayed and Mr Kim was the first to tackle sensitive topics, including the resumption of a military exercise between South Korea and the US that was postponed for a peaceful Winter Olympics, the Blue House official said.
"This is when we knew the efforts of North and South Korea taken after the Moon Jae-in administration began had paid off," said one participant of the North Korea visit.
The South's National Security's Mr Chung is also set to travel to China following his Washington trip.
Under pressure from Mr Trump, Beijing has backed a series of United Nations sanctions against North Korea, sending relations between the Cold War-era allies to a new low.
Beijing has repeatedly called for negotiations to peacefully put an end to tensions that have raised fears of nuclear warfare, after months of fiery rhetoric between Mr Kim and Mr Trump.
But China's foreign minister Thursday stressed that "the sincerity" of all parties to solve the nuclear crisis would be tested, noting that breakthroughs on the North Korean nuclear issue had collapsed in the past.
"Of course it takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice," he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was among the world leaders to hail the announcement as a "glimmer of hope," saying North Korea's nuclear drive "has been a source of great concern for all of us."
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Spec%20sheet
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More on Quran memorisation:
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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
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Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.