North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released photographs of the encounter showing Kim and his sister smiling and laughing during their meeting with their South Korean guests. Another image shows them hosting dinner inside the Workers' Party of Korea headquarters, with Kim Jong Un's wife, Ri Sol Ju, also present. A story published by the state mouthpiece described the atmosphere as "compatriotic and sincere."

Excluding basketball legend Dennis Rodman and former high-ranking Chinese official Liu Yunshan, the officials from Seoul are believed to be the first non-North Koreans Kim Jong Un has spoken with face-to-face since taking the reins of the hermit nation after his father passed away in 2011.

South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong, who led the South Korean group, is expected to travel to Washington with National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon to discuss the trip with their American counterparts after returning to Seoul.

Despite the historic nature of their visit, those who closely watch the Korean Peninsula do not see an impending shift in strategy from either Seoul or Pyongyang, but rather two sides trying to play the best hands they've been dealt amid talk of military action by Washington.

"Right now the immediate goal of Seoul and Pyongyang is to decrease the chances that (US President) Donald Trump and his advisers will one day decide to strike. And how can you do it? By using your charm and smiles," said Andrei Lankov, a prominent North Korea watcher and professor at Kookmin University in Seoul.

Moon's emphasis on both dialogue and military capabilities appears to fall in line with the United States' so-called maximum pressure campaign, in which Washington ramps up sanctions and pressure on North Korea while leaving the door open for negotiation.

Trump's administration has said it would be willing to engage in dialogue with North Korea, but has always insisted that Pyongyang eventually abandon its nuclear weapons program as part of any talks.

The woman at Kim's side

Geopolitics aside, Kim Jong Un's meeting with the South Koreans is almost certain to be an intelligence coup, analysts say. Just getting face time with Kim is likely to help the United States and South Korea better understand the one of the world's most mysterious leaders.

"They'll be trying to discern Kim Jong Un's mannerisms, his health, his decision-making capability," said Bruce Klingner, a former CIA deputy division chief for Korea now with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington.

One thing that's apparent from the tranche of images released by North Korean state media is the increasing presence and power of Kim's sister, according to Michael Madden, a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University's US-Korea institute and expert on North Korea's leadership.

Kim Yo Jong officially heads North Korea's propaganda wing but her political profile has skyrocketed in recent months. She was chosen to lead the North Korean delegation to the PyeongChang Games and had a seat at the table next to her brother for Monday's historic meeting. She was the only woman there.

"Kim Yo Jong is a lot more powerful than any of us are giving her credit for ... she is way more powerful than anyone wants to admit in terms of what she's involved in," Madden said.

"The whole thing of relations with the South Koreans, that's her thing."