Trump this: Kim hits Singapore ... and social media
IT IS not often that Donald Trump finds himself being upstaged, but in Singapore yesterday it was that other maverick showman of global politics who stole the show.
While the US president was busy on Twitter fulminating against the heads of the G7, Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, took the first round of one of the strangest and most unpredictable geopolitical meetings of the past 50 years.
Kim, who as a student in Switzerland once commandeered the embassy lim- ousine to go to a basketball match in Paris, left his base at the St Regis Hotel last night for an impromptu tour of the city state.
Accompanied by his bodyguards, Kim set out in his bullet-proof limousine, which had been delivered to Sin- gapore on a transport plane provided by China, his chief sponsor. The plane also brought his personal portable lavatory and North Korean food.
Kim headed for the Marina Bay Sands, a 55-floor skyscraper, an entertainments mecca for locals with its rooftop bar and infinity pool. He was taken to the top floor for a view over the city at the start of a visit that went on to include walking over a bridge at the esplanade, about two thirds of a mile away. The tour also took in Gardens by the Bay, which has the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
The North Korean dictator beamed as Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s foreign minister, took a selfie of them, which he then posted on Facebook and Twitter. The picture was captioned #jalanjalan #guesswhere?” The Malay phrase means “taking a walk”.
These were truly extraordinary moments for a secretive leader who has rarely left his realm since taking power.
Kim was accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo-jong, who is credited with
helping create his image, and basked in the attention of the world’s press.
In North Korea, news of Kim’s meeting with Mr Trump was finally announced to the public in a seven-minute TV morning news bulletin. Ri Chunhee, 75, the state’s star newsreader, revealed the “new” development in her customary melodramatic style.
KCNA, North Korea’s state media outlet, said a “permanent and durable peacekeeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula” would be discussed.
In Singapore, 5,000 journalists gathered to await the outcome of the talks, in which Mr Trump will spend at least an hour one-on-one, without aides or advisers, with Kim.
The times when Mr Trump dismissed Kim as “little rocket man” and North Korea blasted the US president as a “dotard” seemed all part of a geopolitical pantomime leading up to this historic summit – the first time sitting leaders from both countries have met.
Mr Trump hit out at US critics who have questioned his decision to hold the meeting in an early morning tweet on Tuesday. “The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the U.S., say the haters & losers,” the US president wrote. But he added in defence of the summit: “These pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say! We will be fine!”
As they prepared for the talks, it was disclosed that Mr Trump would promise Kim he would not be toppled if he agreed to give up nuclear weapons. Mr Trump was also set to offer “unique” security assurances, a surge in overseas investment and the lifting of economic sanctions if Kim agreed to comply.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said he was “optimistic” that a deal could be done but warned that sanctions on North Korea would increase if diplomacy failed.
Mr Trump had indicated that the meeting would largely depend on their chemistry, and that he would know “within a minute” if he could trust Kim.
Mr Trump will leave Singapore tonight after the day’s talks.