More than 34 percent of South Korean TV viewers in the capital area watched the historic first encounter between the country's President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday, a media researcher said.

The scene of the two leaders' first encounter on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjom was broadcast live on three major TV networks, four general programming cable channels and two all-news cable channels.

The 34.06 percent viewership recorded from 9:29-30 a.m. was 16.65 percentage point higher than 17.41 percent garnered during the same time slot on the previous day, according to rating surveyor ATAM.

By channel, the viewership stood at 8.48 percent on KBS 1TV,

7.53 percent on MBC, 4.92 percent on SBS, 7.82 percent on JTBC,

2.37 percent on TV Chosun, 1.23 percent on MBN, 0.17 percent on Channel A, 0.09 percent on Yonhap News TV, 1.45 percent on YTN.

ATAM surveyed 700 households in Seoul and its adjacent cities to calculate the viewership.(Yonhap)