White House gives time, not place, for Kim summit
Washington The summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place at 9 am next Tuesday in Singapore, the White House has said.
It remains unclear exactly where the two leaders will meet, but Singapore on Tuesday added its southern resort island of Sentosa to a special event area designated for the summit.
In spite of the meeting, the US has made it clear that sanctions would not be lifted against North Korea unless it gave up its nuclear weapons. “The president has been receiving daily briefings on North Korea from his national security team, and ...the schedule tentatively, for that first meeting will be on June 12 at 9 am Singapore time, and take place June 11, 9:00 PM East Coast time,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
The Trump administration, she said, is actively preparing for the summit. “The advance team in Singapore is finalising logistical preparations and will remain in place until the summit begins. In the Demilitarised Zone, the US ambassador’s delegation continues diplomatic negotiations with the North Korean delegation. Discussions have been very positive, and significant progress has been made,” Sanders said.
On Monday, Singapore had declared a central region housing its foreign ministry, the US embassy and several hotels as a special zone from June 10 to 14.
The amended zone included Sentosa island and an area of the sea stretching more than 1 km off its southwestern shore.
There will be greater police presence at an area in the island that includes the Capella hotel, which media have mentioned as a possible venue for the talks.