Positive signs ahead of highly anticipated Singapore summit

The eyes of the world are US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who will come face-to-face for the first time in a historic summit which is set to kick off at on Tuesday morning.

A man walks past a television news screen showing US President Donald Trump (L) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), at a train station in Seoul on June 11, 2018.
AFP

A man walks past a television news screen showing US President Donald Trump (L) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), at a train station in Seoul on June 11, 2018.

The world's eyes are on Singapore ahead of a historic summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea. 

If all goes well, the meeting could help pave the way for denuclearisation of the entire Korean Peninsula. 

If it doesn't, it could amp up tensions even more.

TRT World's Arabella Munro reports.

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Officials break ice

US and North Korean officials huddled at Singapore's Ritz Carlton Hotel on Monday ahead of the sit-down.

Delegates were outlining specific goals for what US President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un should try to accomplish and multiple scenarios for how key issues can be resolved, an official briefed on the discussions said. 

The meetings also served as an ice breaker of sorts as the teams worked to get better acquainted after decades of minimal US-North Korea contact.

No details were given on the outcome of those talks, but speaking to media earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seemed to lower expectations for the historic meeting.

Instead, Pompeo suggested the summit, while historic, might yield little in the way of concrete success other than to pave the way for more meetings in the future.

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TRT World spoke to Mark Shanahan, a lecturer in politics and international relations at Reading University in England, for more.

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Early departure

US President Donald Trump announced he will be leaving Singapore early because the talks had moved "more quickly than expected."

North Korea's Kim Jong-un is already scheduled to fly out at 2pm, while Trump will leave later at 8pm.

It will be Trump's second unexpected early departure from a summit in just a few days.

The sudden change in schedule added to a dizzying few days for foreign policy for Trump, who shocked US allies over the weekend when he used a meeting of the Group of 7 industrialised economies in Canada to alienate America's closest friends in the West. 

Lashing out over trade practices, he lobbed insults at the G7 host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

He left early, and as he flew to Singapore, he tweeted that he was yanking the US out of the traditional group statement.

As Trump was trying to build a bridge with Kim, he was smashing longtime alliances with Western allies with his abrasive performance at the G7. 

He continued to tweet angrily at Trudeau from Singapore, saying Monday "Fair Trade is now to be called Fool Trade if it is not Reciprocal."

TRT World's Oliver Whitfield-Miocic reports from Seoul, South Korea.

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Summit could last two hours

In recent days, Trump had suggested the meeting could last days, potentially even resulting in a nuclear deal. 

But US officials have since avoided such lofty declarations. Abbreviating the meeting to a single day could make it easier to cast the summit as an early, symbolic opening, rather than a substantive negotiation in which a lack of tangible progress would suggest failure on the part of the negotiators.

The White House said the summit was to kick off at 9 am Tuesday. 

After greeting each other — an image sure to be devoured around the world — the two leaders planned to sit for a one-on-one meeting that a US official said could last up to two hours, with only translators joining them. 

The official wasn't authorised to discuss the plans and insisted on anonymity.

The daylong summit will also include a working lunch and a larger meeting involving aides to both leaders, the White House said. On the US side, Trump was to be joined by Pompeo, chief of staff John Kelly, national security adviser John Bolton and US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, along with a few others.

Kim visits Singapore sites

Kim was not believed to have left his hotel since a meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong soon after his arrival in the city on Sunday, but he ventured out on Monday evening.

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The Swiss-educated leader, who is believed to be 34, has not left his isolated country since taking office in 2011 other than to visit China and the South Korean side of the border Demilitarised Zone, which separates the two Koreas.

His first stop was a waterfront park with futuristic installations, Gardens by the Bay, which boasts the largest glass greenhouse and tallest indoor waterfall in the world.

He joined Singapore's foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, who took a selfie, before stopping at the Marina Bay Sands hotel, which resembles a giant surfboard perched on three tall columns, for a look out over the bright lights of the city from its rooftop garden and swimming pool.

On the way back to his hotel, Kim walked along a promenade near the Merlion, a giant statue, and fountain, of a mythical creature, half lion, half fish - Singapore's unofficial mascot.

The rare public appearance of Kim, waving and smiling to onlookers, adds to the more affable image of the young leader that has emerged since his summit in April with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in.

"Interesting meeting tomorrow"

In Singapore, the island city-state hosting the summit, the sense of anticipation was palpable, with people lining spotless streets Monday waving cellphones as Trump headed to meet Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. 

As Trump and Lee sat down for a working lunch at the Istana house, Trump sounded optimistic, telling Lee, "we've got a very interesting meeting in particular tomorrow, and I think things can work out very nicely."

Trump also called the leaders of South Korea and Japan in advance of the summit, Pompeo said. 

Expectations

Trump and Kim arrived in Singapore on Sunday, both staying at luxurious and heavily guarded hotels less than half a mile apart, with Trump at the Shangri-La Hotel and Kim at the St. Regis Hotel.

Trump, too, has recently sought to minimise expectations, saying additional meetings may be necessary.

Asked Saturday about his goals, he said: "Well, I think the minimum would be relationship. You would start at least a dialogue, because, you know, as a deal person, I have done very well with deals."

The North has faced crippling diplomatic and economic sanctions, which began years before Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign, as it has advanced development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Experts believe the North is close to being able to target the entire US mainland with its nuclear-armed missiles, and while there's deep skepticism that 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.

While advisers insist Trump has been reviewing briefing materials, he says his gut instincts will matter most when he gets in the room with Kim. He told reporters, "I will know, just my touch, my feel. That's what I do."

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