Kim has just one chance for deal

US President Donald Trump cast his summit tomorrow with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as a “one-time shot” for the autocratic leader to ditch his nuclear weapons and enter the community of nations, saying he would know within moments if Mr Kim was serious about the talks.

Mr Trump said yesterday he was embarking on a “mission of peace” as he departed the Group of Seven meeting in Canada to fly to the summit site in Singapore.

Saying he has a “clear objective in mind” to convince Mr Kim to abandon his nuclear program in exchange for unspecified “protections” from the US, Mr Trump acknowledged that the direction of the high-stakes meeting was unpredictable, adding it “will always be spur of the moment”.

“It’s unknown territory in the truest sense, but I really feel confident,” he said. “I feel that Kim Jong Un wants to do something great for his people and he has that opportunity and he won’t have that opportunity again.

“It’s a one-time shot and I think it’s going to work out very well.”

The Trump-Kim meeting will be the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. Unlike traditional summits between heads of state, where most of the work is completed in advance of a photo-op, US officials say the only thing certain ahead of these talks will be their unpredictability. Raising expectations in advance of the meeting, Mr Trump said the outcome would rely heavily on his own instincts.

The US President, who prides himself on his deal-making prowess, said he would know “within the first minute” of meeting Mr Kim whether the North Korean leader was serious about the nuclear talks.

“I think I’ll know pretty quickly whether or not, in my opinion, something positive will happen. And if I think it won’t happen, I’m not going to waste my time,” he said.

Mr Trump also reiterated his promise that the US “will watch over and we’ll protect” Mr Kim and his government in return for him giving up the nuclear program.

The sit-down comes as Mr Trump’s combative style of diplomacy was on stark display on the weekend in Canada during the annual Group of Seven summit. Tensions flared between Mr Trump and US allies over his protectionist economic policies and decisions to exit the Iran nuclear deal and Paris climate accord.

I FEEL THAT KIM JONG UN WANTS TO DO SOMETHING GREAT FOR HIS PEOPLE AND HE HAS THAT OPPORTUNITY DONALD TRUMP