National Post (National Edition)
ALL EYES ON KIM IN SINGAPORE
From hermit kingdom to summit, leader of North Korea basking in world’s attention
SINGAPORE •It is not often that Donald Trump finds himself being upstaged, but in Singapore Monday it was that other maverick showman of global politics who stole the show.
While the U.S. president was busy on Twitter fulminating again against Canada and Justin Trudeau, Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader, took the first round of one of the strangest and most unpredictable geopolitical meetings of the past 50 years.
Kim, who as a student in Switzerland once commandeered the embassy limousine to go to a basketball match in Paris, left his base at the St Regis Hotel in Singapore for an impromptu tour of the city state.
Accompanied by his bodyguards, Kim set out in his bulletproof limousine, which had been delivered to Singapore on a transport plane provided by his chief sponsor, China. The plane also brought his personal portable lavatory and North Korean food.
Kim headed for the Marina Bay Sands, a 55-floor skyscraper, an entertainments mecca for locals with its rooftop bar and infinity pool. He was taken to the top floor for a view over the city at the start of a visit that went on to include walking over a bridge at the esplanade. The tour also took in Gardens by the Bay, which has the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
The North Korean dictator beamed as Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s foreign minister, took a selfie of them, which he then posted on Facebook and Twitter.
These were truly extraordinary moments for a secretive leader who has rarely left his realm since taking power.
Kim was accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is credited with helping create his image, and basked in the attention as cameras of the world’s press flashed and whirred.
Back home in North Korea the news of Kim’s meeting with Trump was finally announced to the public. In a seven-minute morning television news bulletin star newsreader Ri Chun Hee, 75, revealed the “new” development in the national station’s customarily melodramatic style.
KCNA, the North Korean state media outlet, said that a “permanent and durable peace-keeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula” would be discussed.
At the summit, Trump and Kim will square off one on one, alone but for a pair of translators. That’s raising concerns about the risk of holding such a monumental meeting with barely anyone to bear witness.
Word of the 45 minute private meeting on Sentosa Island unleashed a torrent of criticism on social media from national security veterans who worry the lack of a transcript will create a he-said-he-said showdown that could turn into a major headache for Trump.
The huddle will come before a larger meeting and a working lunch attended by top advisers to the presi- dent and their North Korean counterparts.
The times when Trump dismissed Kim as “little rocket man” and North Korea blasted the U.S. president as a “dotard” now seemed all part of a geopolitical pantomime leading up to this historic meeting — the first time sitting leaders from both countries have met.
As they prepared for the summit it was disclosed that Trump would give Kim a personal pledge — that he would not be toppled if he agreed to give up his nuclear weapons.
Trump was set to offer Kim “unique” security assurances, a surge in overseas investment, and the lifting of economic sanctions if Kim agreed to completely denuclearize.
Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, said he was “very optimistic” that a deal could be done as he laid out America’s terms.
But he also issued a stark warning that the sanctions on North Korea would increase if diplomacy did not work.
Pompeo said, “The complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the only outcome that the United States will accept.
“President Trump recognizes Chairman Kim’s desire for security, and is prepared to ensure that a North Korea free of weapons of mass destruction is also a secure North Korea.”
Trump had indicated that the outcome of his tete-a-tete with Kim would largely depend on their chemistry, and that he would know “within a minute” if he could trust Kim.
The White House announced that Trump would leave Singapore on Tuesday after the day’s talks, rather than staying another evening. Officials said discussions had moved “more quickly than expected.”
Trump’s last summit — the G7 meeting in Quebec at the weekend — ended in a tirade from the president against Canada and Trudeau.
Trump continued on Monday saying on Twitter, “Fair trade is now to be called fool trade if it is not reciprocal,” and “Sorry, we cannot let our friends, or enemies, take advantage of us on trade anymore. We must put the American worker first!”
However, Trump’s posturing and that of his senior advisers against Canada may be part of an orchestrated move to look strong ahead of the summit with Kim.
When White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow went on CNN’S State of the Union Sunday, he said “Kim must not see American weakness,” adding that Trudeau “can’t put Trump in a position of being weak going into the North Korean talks with Kim. He can’t do that. And by the way, President Trump is not weak. He will be very strong, as he always is.”