Trump and Kim to hold landmark talks
US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 – the first summit between the two leaders.
“The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong-un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace,” Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday.
Mr Kim recently stepped on to South Korean soil for the first time and committed to denuclearisation in a meeting with Xi Jinping, the president of China, Pyongyang’s only major diplomatic ally.
Mr Trump said he wanted the meeting at the Demilitarised Zone, the heavily fortified border separating the Koreas. But the city state was favoured by most of his advisers.
The South-East Asian financial hub was probably chosen because of its neutrality, security advantages and track record of hosting international summits, observers say. Singapore has robust security infrastructure and is widely considered one of the safest cities in Asia.
It has tight restrictions over media and public gatherings, which will allow for a controlled environment.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, travelled to Pyongyang twice to meet with Mr Kim in recent months, in a precursor to the Trump-Kim meeting. Mr Pompeo returned overnight from his most recent trip with three Americans who had been held captive in North Korea.
On Thursday, Mr Trump thanked Mr Kim for releasing the three, saying he believes Mr Kim wants to reach an agreement on denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.
The military hospital that received the three released Americans said they will be reunited with their families once they have achieved “an optimal period of decompression”.
The statement, released through the Pentagon by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, says family support is important for the returnees, and that allowing them to decompress away from their families is the standard process for all who reintegrate into American society after a period of captivity. It said reuniting with families too soon can “cause additional psychological stress”.
Mr Trump said of the talks between his administration and the North Korean government: “It’s never been taken this far”.
He said he would not disclose whether he will have any personal conversations with Mr Kim as they prepare for their historic summit.