An upcoming historic summit between dictator Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in is a chance for North Korea to demonstrate a commitment to eliminating nuclear weapons, Julie Bishop has declared.
Mr Moon will greet the North Korean leader as the latter crosses a military demarcation line to enter the south on Friday.
Australia's foreign minister hailed the talks.
"The North and South Korean leaders have not met for over 10 years and I welcome President Moon's efforts to forge diplomatic solutions on the Korean Peninsula," Ms Bishop told AAP.
"This summit is an opportunity for North Korea to demonstrate its commitment to improving inter-Korean relations, and to meeting the international community's demand for denuclearisation."
South Korean honour guards will escort the leaders to a welcome ceremony at a plaza in Panmunjom, the border village where Friday's summit is to be held.
Official dialogue between the leaders will begin at 10.30am at the Peace House in Panmunjom.
"This summit will focus more on denuclearisation and securing of permanent peace than anything else," South Korea's presidential chief of staff, Im Jong-seok told a media briefing.
Mr Kim will be accompanied by nine officials, among them his sister, Kim Yo-jong, who led the North's delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February and Kim Yong Nam, the North's nominal head of state.
In addition, there will be Kim Yong-chol, a former intelligence chief and Choe Hwi, the chairman of a sports panel. The North sent athletes to the Winter Olympics, where the neighbours also fielded a joint women's ice hockey team.
South Korea's delegation is comprised of seven officials, including the ministers for defence, foreign affairs and unification.
After the end of the first session of talks, the two leaders will have lunch separately before holding a tree-planting ceremony in the afternoon.
A pine tree will be planted on the demarcation line to symbolise "peace and prosperity", using soil from Mount Paektu in North Korea and Mount Halla in South Korea.
The leaders will water the tree with water brought from the Taedong River in the North and the Han River in the South.
Afterwards, they will take a walk together in Panmunjom before beginning the next round of talks.
At the end of the talks, the leaders are expected to sign a pact and make an announcement.
Australian Associated Press
