In a historic event on June 12, U.S. President Donald Trump has met North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.
The two met at Sentosa, a resort island off Singapore’s port with a Universal Studios theme park and man-made beaches. Enemies since the 1950-53 Korean War, leaders of North Korea and the United States have never met previously — or even spoken on the telephone.
Trump “felt foolish” lobbing insults at Kim
Mr. Trump says he sometimes “felt foolish” lobbing insults at Mr. Kim. But he says without his harsh rhetoric, their summit may never have happened. Mr. Trump is reflecting on his evolving rhetoric in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity in Singapore.
Mr. Trump, who had threatened “fire and fury” and called Mr. Kim “Little Rocket Man,” says, “I think without the rhetoric we wouldn’t have been here.” Mr. Trump says, “That’s not the answer.”
Seoul holds comment on stopping military drills
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Defence Ministry is sidestepping an immediate reaction to Mr. Trump’s claim that Washington and Seoul should stop their regular military drills. The Ministry says it would first need to figure out the “exact meaning and intent” of such comments, echoing a stance taken by the presidential office. The Ministry had said in recent weeks that there were no immediate plans between Washington and Seoul to modify the annual drills despite Pyongyang’s anger toward them.
A positive step, says Russia
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has hailed the summit between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim as a "positive" step, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti. "We have not yet seen the documents (signed at the summit). I don't think they have been published. But the mere fact that this meeting took place is of course positive," the agency quotes Mr. Lavrov as saying.
Trump heads home a day earlier than expected
Mr. Trump is telling reporters that North Korea’s denuclearisation will have to be total and verifiable as he prepares to head home from his historic summit with Mr. Kim.
Mr. Trump spoke with reporters shortly before Air Force One took off from Singapore after a day of meetings with Mr. Kim. Mr. Trump says the U.S. would have to verify North Korea’s denuclearisation. He says, “We’re going to have to check it. We will check it. Total and complete.”
Mr. Trump is heading home a day earlier than expected. He said he didn’t want to stay an extra night when everything he’d set out to do had been accomplished. Mr. Trump will be stopping in Guam and Hawaii as he makes his way back to Washington.
IAEA welcomes joint statement
The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog is welcoming Mr. Trump’s joint statement with Mr. Kim.
Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), says his agency “stands ready to undertake any verification activities in (North Korea) that it may be requested to conduct by the countries concerned.”
Mr. Amano says the IAEA “will closely follow the negotiations to be held between the two countries to implement the outcomes” of Mr. Trump’s summit with Mr. Kim.
Trump says summit should have happened five years ago
Mr. Trump said North Korea has a “substantial arsenal” of nuclear weapons and the summit should have happened five years ago.
At a news conference on Tuesday after his meeting with Mr. Kim, Mr. Trump discussed efforts to press him to get rid of its nuclear weapons.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk near the Capella Hotel after their working lunch
The President said that the U.S. doesn’t have a lot of intelligence on the country but that “we have enough intelligence to know that what they have is very substantial.”
Mr. Trump also said Mr. Kim understood what the U.S. has been pushing for in the talks. Mr. Trump said, “I think he’s going to do these things.”
India Welcomes the U.S.- DPRK Summit
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement released on Tuesday called the summit a “positive development.”
Here is the full statement:
“India welcomes the United States-DPRK Summit held in Singapore. This is a positive development. India has always supported all efforts to bring about peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy. We hope that the outcomes of the U.S.-DPRK Summit will be implemented, thus paving the way for lasting peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.
“We also hope that the resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue will take into account and address our concerns about proliferation linkages extending to India’s neighbourhood.”
Trump begins press conference
“I stand before you to deliver a message of peace. I thank PM Lee, a friend of mine. Also want to thank President Moon of S. Korea, Japan's Shinzo Abe. I also thank Xi Jinping of China, for helping close the borders.
“I thank Kim for taking the first bold step towards a bright new future. Proves that real change is indeed possible. Meeting was honest and productive. We’re ready to write a new chapter in the history of our two nations. 70 years ago, thousands died in a bloody conflict. Now we can have hope that it will soon end. History has proved before that adversaries can become friends.
“Chairman Kim has before him an opportunity like never before for his people. Kim and I signed an agreement and he has committed to complete denuclearisation.
“We dream of a future where all Koreans can live in peace. North Korea has already committed to destroying a missile site. It is an honour to stand before you all today and it is a bit intimidating!”
Mr. Trump takes questions:
Annual war games
“We will be stopping war games. It was costing us a lot of money. Ultimately, we want to bring our soldiers home. Today’s the beginning of an arduous process — our eyes are wide open.”
Mr. Trump announced after the meeting that he will be freezing U.S. military “war games” with its ally South Korea while negotiations between the two countries continue. He cast the decision as a cost-saving measure, but North Korea has long objected to the drills as a security threat.
“Kim has been invited to the White House. I think I will also be visiting Pyongyang.”
Mr. Trump says he discussed human rights with Mr. Kim, will hold more conversations on that in the future.
Denuclearisation
Mr. Trump says he really believes North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is going to make good on his promise to denuclearise.
Mr. Trump said on Tuesday near the end of a lengthy press conference in Singapore that he may be wrong about Mr. Kim, but he’ll never admit it.
Mr. Trump jokes that he “may stand before you in six months and say, ‘Hey, I was wrong.’” But he says, “I don’t know that I’ll ever admit that.”
Trump appeared to be in a good spirits as he answered questions for almost an hour following a day of meetings with Mr. Kim and other North Korean officials.
Working toward ‘complete denuclearisation’
Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim have signed a joint document in which they commit to working “toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.”
The document signed by the leaders also said they will join efforts “to build a lasting and stable peace regime” on the Korean Peninsula.
The White House has yet to release the document’s text. But it was photographed by the news media during a signing ceremony.
The document lays out four broad commitments. It says the sides “commit to establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.”
And it says they will commit to recovering the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Kim leaves Singapore
The North Korean leader has left the small Singapore island that was the site of his meeting with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Kim’s convoy left Sentosa Island on Tuesday afternoon after he signed a document with the American President, who stayed behind at the hotel where the two leaders met.
Moon says he ‘hardly slept’
South Korean President Moon Jae-in says he “hardly slept” in anticipation of the United States-North Korea summit in Singapore.
Mr. Moon and other officials watched the live broadcast of the summit before a South Korean Cabinet meeting in his presidential office today, smiling and nodding as he watched it.
Mr. Moon has met Mr. Kim twice in recent months and helped arrange the U.S.-North Korean summit.
Mr. Moon said he “ardently aspires” for the success of the summit and hopes it brings complete denuclearisation and peace to the Korean Peninsula.
Trump heaps praise on Kim
Mr. Trump praised the North Korean leader as a “very worthy, very smart negotiator” on behalf of his people as the two leaders bid each other farewell after their historic summit.
Mr. Trump was asked by reporters in Singapore during his final appearance with Mr. Kim on Tuesday what surprised him most during their meetings. The U.S. President said Mr. Kim has a “great personality” and is “very smart. Good combination.”
Mr. Trump also said he learned Mr. Kim is “a very talented man” and “loves his country very much.”
The President also added that he “absolutely” would invite Mr. Kim to the White House. Before Tuesday’s summit in Singapore, Mr. Trump had dangled the prospect of a White House visit for Mr. Kim.
Trump and Kim sign joint document
Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim, in front of the media and photographers, signed a joint document. Mr. Trump still didn't reveal details and added that it will be made public through a press conference around 2.30 p.m. local time.
Mr. Trump said, “We are about to sign a very important document. There will be a press conference in less than two hours. It is a comprehensive document. Our relationship with North Korea is very different now from what it has been in the past. I want to thank Chairman Kim and we spent an intensive time. Worked out for us better than expected. A lot of goodwill has gone into this.”
Mr. Kim declared “world will see a major change,” and he and Mr. Trump “decided to leave the past behind” as they sign document. Mr. Trump says the North Korea denuclearisation process will be starting “very quickly.”
Unspecified document to be signed
As the two leaders walked out of Capella Hotel side by side, Mr. Trump announced that they will sign unspecified document shortly, without dropping any hints. “We’re going to be announcing that in a couple of minutes,” said Mr. Trump. The U.S. President added that the meeting was “better than anybody could imagine.”
Restricted press access at Summit
The White House restricted journalists’ access to parts of Mr. Trump’s summit with Mr. Kim, despite long-standing arrangements intended to ensure the public is kept fully abreast of key presidential moments.
Under standard rules agreed to by the White House and the press corps, a full pool of reporters travels with the President at all times and is allowed at any meetings where press access in granted, even if space is limited.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during a summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018.
During the photo-op at the start of Mr. Trump’s one-on-one meeting with Mr. Kim, text reporters for newswires The Associated Press , Reuters and Bloomberg were kept out of the pool, as were the designated representatives for radio and the foreign press corps. Although a television cameraman and sound technician were allowed in, the TV networks’ editorial representative responsible for relaying information to colleagues about what occurs or is said during the photo-op was not.
Some, but not all, were later allowed in for the photo-op of Mr. Trump’s larger meeting with Mr. Kim and aides from both countries.
No independent journalists were allowed in for another photo-op at the start of a working lunch meeting involving Mr. Trump, Mr. Kim and top aides. U.S. journalists learned that the lunch was underway only when footage from inside was displayed on a video feed provided by summit host Singapore.
(AP)
Hungry?
What’s on the menu for Trump and Kim after the historic handshake? For starters, there's prawn cocktail and avocado salad, a Southeast Asian-flavoured green mango salad dish with honey lime dressing and fresh octopus, as well as oiseon, a Korean dish of stuffed cucumber. We haven't even got to the main course yet.
(Reuters)
At Trump-Kim summit, human rights is a back-burner issue
Mr. Trump said it himself to Congress and the American people: “No regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea.”
U.S. President Donald Trump sits next to North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before their bilateral meeting at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.
But when it comes to human rights, don’t expect Mr. Trump to hold Mr. Kim’s feet to the fire at the Singapore summit. The focus is on nuclear weapons, and the young autocrat’s international standing is likely to be boosted regardless of the outcome.
Historic handshake
Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim shared a historic handshake as they met for the first time.
The two clasped hands for a long while on Tuesday as they posed for photos in front of a row of U.S. and North Korean flags. Mr. Trump then directed Mr. Kim to walk down a hallway, where they briefly spoke.
Mr. Trump is predicting that he and Mr. Kim will have “a terrific relationship” as they meet face to face for the first time. Mr. Trump said on Tuesday after meeting Mr. Kim that he’s feeling “really great.” He said, “We’re going to have a great discussion and a terrific relationship.”
Mr. Kim said through an interpreter that it “was not easy to get here” and that there “were obstacles but we overcame them to be here.”
(AP)
Cautious optimism
The first meeting of a sitting U.S. President and a North Korean leader was the product of dizzying weeks of negotiations over logistics and policy.
Up early in Singapore, Mr. Trump tweeted with cautious optimism: “Meetings between staffs and representatives are going well and quickly... but in the end, that doesn’t matter. We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!”
In the run-up to the talks, Mr. Trump had predicted the two men might strike a nuclear deal or forge a formal end to the Korean War in the course of a single meeting or over several days. But on the eve of the summit, the White House unexpectedly announced Mr. Trump would depart Singapore by Tuesday evening, meaning his time with Mr. Kim would be fairly brief. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought to keep expectations for the summit in check.
“We are hopeful this summit will have set the conditions for future successful talks,” Mr. Pompeo said, describing a far more modest goal than Mr. Trump had outlined days earlier.
(AP)
Final preparations on
Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim spent Monday huddling with advisers in luxury Singapore hotels less than half a mile apart, readying for a nuclear summit that could define the fate of millions, and their own political futures.
Both sides also worked to finalize preparations for the unprecedented summit.
The meeting is kicking off at 9 a.m. on Tuesday with a handshake between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim. A U.S. official says the leaders then plan to meet one on one, joined only by translators, for up to two hours before admitting their respective advisers.
Arrival in Singapore
Mr. Kim arrived at Singapore’s Changi Airport after his longest trip overseas as head of state, wearing his trademark dark “Mao suit” and distinctive high cut hairstyle. Arriving on a plane loaned by China, he was also greeted by Mr. Balakrishnan.
Travelling with Mr. Kim were top officials including Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and Kim Yong-chol, a close aide of Mr. Kim who has been instrumental in the diplomacy that culminates in Tuesday’s summit.
Kim Yo-jong, Mr. Kim’s younger sister, was also spotted in his delegation. She emerged as an influential figure in Pyongyang’s opaque leadership in February, when she led a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Officials who arrived with Mr. Trump include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.
Timeline: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un relations
From “madman” to a historic handshake. Here's a look at the whirlwind events, war of words and change of heart between the leaders of USA and North Korea starting from March 2017 till the Singapore summit.
