Only one piece of news in Pyongyang
North Koreans got their first big dose of news yesterday that their leader, Kim Jong Un, had arrived in Singapore for what even the state-run media was calling a historic meeting with US President Donald Trump.
The news covered the front page of the ruling party’s newspaper and was the top — and only — item on the first news broadcast of the day on Korean Central Television, which for many North Koreans is the only channel available.
People crowded around poster stands at subway stations around the capital to read the news and gathered at noon in front of the city’s main train station to watch a big-screen display of images of Kim getting off the special Air China flight that took him to Singapore.
A report by the Korea Central News Agency said the summit would consist of “wide-ranging and profound talks” and noted that it is being held “under the great attention and expectation of the whole world”.
The relative speed with which the state media got the news of Kim’s arrival in Singapore out to the North Korean public suggests a certain level of confidence that the meeting will go well — or at least well enough. For the North, Kim Jong Un has already won a huge propaganda bonus by merely having the summit and sitting down as an equal with the US President.
By prominently showing the Air China jet that flew Kim to Singapore, the reports also made no secret of China’s important role behind the scenes. That may not bode so well for Trump, who has expressed some concern about China’s influence.
Even so, the summit continues to be a highly sensitive topic in North Korea and it is difficult — even more so than usual — to get people to express their opinions about it.
“When I woke up this morning I saw the news in the newspaper that our respected Marshal went to Singapore for the North Korea-US summit,” said Han Il Gwang, a Pyongyang resident, displaying typical discretion when speaking to an Associated Press television crew.
“I know that Singapore is a very hot country so I wish that our respected Marshal stays healthy and comes back in good health.”