Singapore deports 2 South media staff

Singapore, June 10: Two South Korean media staff have been deported after being arrested for illegally entering the North Korean ambassador’s residence in Singapore, police said on Sunday. Some 3,000 journalists have descended on Singapore for the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday.

Singapore is notorious for the strictness with which it enforces law and order, while South Korean media are known for their persistence.

The pair, two men aged 42 and 45 who both worked for Korean Broadcasting System News, were held on Thursday and accused of criminal trespass.

They were given a “stern warning” before being expelled on Saturday, police said in a statement soon after North Korean leader Kim landed in the city-state. Two others with them — another KBS staffer and an interpreter for the group — were found not to have not committed any offence.

Huge security has been deployed for the summit, with parts of the citystate in virtual lockdown.

Police repeated a warning that journalists who break Singapore’s laws will “not be accredited, and thus will not be able to cover, the summit between the United States of America and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)”.

In 2015 a man was shot dead by police when he tried to crash through a security barrier near the Shangri-La Hotel, which had been hosting a security summit attended by then-US defence secretary Ashton Carter.

THE PAIR, two men aged 42 and 45 who both worked for Korean Broadcasting System News, were held on Thursday and accused of criminal trespass.