Trump speaks with Singaporean PM on Kim meeting

Dismantling Punggye-ri test site

US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss his upcoming meeting with top leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.

According to a statement of the White House, Trump, in a telephone call, thanked Lee for his willingness to host his June 12 meeting with Kim, Xinhua reported.

The two leaders also discussed regional security dynamics in the region. Trump said that he looks forward to seeing Lee in Singapore soon.

When asked about the reason why Singapore was chosen, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah on Thursday told the media that the south-east Asian nation has a relationship with both the United States and North Korea.

They can ensure both the president’s security and Kim’s security, as well as provide neutrality, he said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s promise to dismantle his country’s only known nuclear test site later this month has shone the spotlight on the secretive facility near the Chinese border.

The Punggye-ri test site, located beneath a mountain in the country’s northeast, has hosted all six nuclear tests Pyongyang has conducted — most recently last September.

The North on Saturday announced that it would hold a ceremony for the dismantling of the facility between May 23-25, blowing up its tunnels in front of invited foreign media.

The announcement comes as the diplomatic push for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons gathers pace..

‘North Korea scales down annual tank firing contest’

North Korea has reduced the size of an annual firing contest for its armoured units in 2018 and Kim abstained from attending the competition, apparently due to the ongoing peace climate in the peninsula, the South Korean government said yesterday. Kim did not attend the competition, held within the first six months of 2018, which he had attended in 2016 and 2017.