Trump, Kim arrive for summit
Intense interest trains on Singapore meet
SINGAPORE: President Donald Trump landed in Singapore last night, joining North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the island citystate ahead of one of the most unusual and highly anticipated summits in recent world history, a sit-down tomorrow meant to settle a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.
Air Force One touched down at a military air base, travelling from Canada, where Mr Trump had attended a meeting of the Group of Seven Nations. Hours earlier, a jet carrying Mr Kim landed, and after shaking hands with the Singapore foreign minister, Mr Kim sped through the city’s streets in a massive limousine, two large North Korean flags fluttering on the hood, surrounded by other black vehicles with tinted windows and bound for the luxurious and closely guarded St Regis Hotel.
Mr Kim smiled broadly as he met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “The entire world is watching the historic summit between [North Korea] and the United States of America, and thanks to your sincere efforts ... we were able to complete the preparations for the historic summit,’’ Mr Kim told Mr Lee through an interpreter.
Mr Trump is set to meet Mr Lee today. Mr Trump has said he hopes to win a legacymaking deal with the North to give up their nuclear weapons, though he has recently sought to manage expectations, saying that it may take more than one meeting. The North, many experts believe, stands on the brink of being able to target the entire US mainland with its nuclear-armed missiles, and while there’s deep scepticism that Mr Kim will quickly give up those hard-won nukes, there’s also some hope that diplomacy can replace the animosity between the US and the North.
This will be the first summit of its kind between a leader of North Korea and a sitting US president. The North has faced crippling diplomatic and economic sanctions as it has advanced development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The North Korean autocrat’s every move will be followed by 3,000 journalists who have converged on Singapore, and by observers around the world, up until he shakes hands with Mr Trump. It’s a reflection of the intense global curiosity over Mr Kim’s sudden turn to diplomacy in recent months after a slew of North Korean nuclear and missile tests last year raised serious fears of war.
Part of the interest in the summit is simply because Mr Kim has had such limited appearances on the world stage. He has only publicly left his country three times since taking power after his father’s death in late 2011— twice travelling to China and once across his shared border with the South to the southern part of the Demilitarised Zone in recent summits with the leaders of China and South Korea respectively.
The meeting was initially meant to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, but the talks have been portrayed by Mr Trump in recent days more as a get-to-know-you session. Mr Trump has also raised the possibility of further summits and an agreement ending the Korean War by replacing the armistice signed in 1953 with a peace treaty. China and South Korea would have to sign off on any treaty.
Pyongyang has said it is willing to deal away its entire nuclear arsenal if the US provides it with reliable security assurances. But many say this is unlikely, given the weapons are seen as the major guarantee to holding onto his unchecked power. The North may see a treaty as its best way of preserving the Kim family dynasty. The ensuing recognition as a “normal country’’ could then allow sanctions relief, international aid and investment. Just meeting Mr Trump will also give Mr Kim a recognition North Korea has long sought, setting him up as global player and equal to the US domestically and, internationally, as the leader of a “normal country’’ worthy of respect.
Just meeting Mr Trump will also give Mr Kim a recognition North Korea has long sought.