A STEP CLOSER TO HISTORY
The stage is set for one of the most unusual summits in modern history, with North Korea's Kim Jong Un leaving his locked-down stronghold of Pyongyang and stepping into Singapore for his sit-down with US President Donald Trump on June 12
A gamble
There’s no recent precedent for the gamble Kim Jong Un is taking. His father only rarely travelled out of the country by train because of fears of assassination. Kim is only known to have made short trips to autocrat-friendly China other than a recent historic visit to South Korea. While he attended school in Switzerland, traveling this far as supreme leader is an entirely different matter
Cat-and-mouse trip to Singapore
Three aircraft made their way to Singapore from Pyongyang airport on Saturday. One of them was the ageing Soviet-made Ilyushin-62 that is Kim's personal jet — officially known as ‘Chammae-1’, or Goshawk-1, after the North's national bird. But Kim was not on board that aircraft. Instead he flew on an Air China Boeing 747. According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, it took off using flight number CA122 seemingly for Beijing. In midair, it changed its callsign to CA061 and headed south towards Singapore
The venue
Sentosa Island is linked to Singapore by a bridge, located 400 meters off the coast. It is home to high-end resorts. Covers have been hung over the driveway of the island’s St Regis hotel, where Kim will stay. Potted plants have been brought in to obstruct the view. The hotel is located a stone's throw away from the Orchard Road shopping belt. On the 20th floor, the Presidential Suite, where Kim is likely to stay, is "lined with gold”
Who’s paying?
Who will pick up the bill for the North Koreans' stay has been the subject of speculation. A Seoul spokesperson said they are "not considering it at all at the moment", while the US has insisted it will not foot the bill