SINGAPORE: United States President Donald Trump arrived in Singapore on Sunday (Jun 10), two days ahead of a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The two leaders are set to meet on Tuesday at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa for talks which could see North Korea dismantle its nuclear arsenal in return for economic help and security guarantees.
AdvertisementTrump landed at Paya Lebar Airbase on board Air Force One after cutting short his time at the G7 summit in Canada. He was received by Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
In a post on Twitter during his flight, Trump reiterated his optimism that the summit with the North Korean leader will be a success.
“I am on my way to Singapore where we have a chance to achieve a truly wonderful result for North Korea and the World. It will certainly be an exciting day and I know that Kim Jong-un will work very hard to do something that has rarely been done before … Create peace and great prosperity for his land. I look forward to meeting him and have a feeling that this one-time opportunity will not be wasted!”
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe US president had told reporters in Canada that he “felt confident” about Tuesday’s talks with Kim.
"It's unknown territory in the truest sense but I really feel confident," Trump said. "I feel that Kim Jong Un wants to do something great for his people and he has that opportunity ... It's a one-time shot."
"I am on a mission of peace and we're going to be carrying the hearts of millions of people from all," he said. "We have to get denuclearisation, we have to get something going."
The meeting between Kim and Trump will mark a turnaround of relations between the two leaders after a long-running exchange of furious threats and insults.
The summit, the first time a sitting US president meets a North Korean leader, was nearly called off just two weeks before the event.
More than 2,500 journalists are in Singapore to cover the event.
Kim is expected to stay at the St Regis hotel and Trump at the Shangri-La, both in the Tanglin area in downtown Singapore.
Asked how long it would take for him to work out if Kim was serious about striking some kind of peace deal, Trump replied: "I think within the first minute I'll know.
"It's just my touch, my feel. That's what I do."
Watch our comprehensive coverage of the Trump-Kim summit live on YouTube from 7am on Tuesday (Jun 12). Subscribe to our channel here.
You can also watch the livestream, and read updates at www.channelnewsasia.com/trumpkimsummit.
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