Trump, Kim kick off historic summit in Singapore

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un made history on Tuesday, becoming the first sitting US and North Korean leaders to meet and shake hands, as they seek to end a tense decades-old nuclear stand-off.

The two men strode toward each other and shared the momentous handshake beneath the white-washed walls of an upscale hotel in neutral Singapore, before sitting down for a half-day of meetings with major ramifications for the world.

They shook hands for several seconds, Trump reaching out to touch the North Korean leader on his right shoulder.

As they sat down for their one-on-one meeting, the US leader predicted a "terrific relationship" with Kim.

The extraordinary summit was unthinkable only months ago.

Then, the two nuclear-armed foes appeared on the verge of conflict, as Kim conducted nuclear and missile tests and the two leaders slung personal insults.

Trump had cajoled the international community to exert "maximum pressure" to buckle Kim's regime and threatened to unleash "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if Pyongyang did not disarm.

For his part, Kim called the US leader "mentally deranged" and a "dotard" as he fired off a series of provocative weapons tests.

That seemed a distant memory amid the palms of the ultra exclusive Capella Hotel.

It is a potentially legacy-defining meeting for both men -- comparable to president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, or Ronald Reagan's summit 1986 with Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik.

And it is part of what Trump calls a "one-time" offer to resolve the stand-off through diplomacy.

"We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!" Trump tweeted shortly before departing for the summit.

Hugely symbolic talks

The pair – Kim in his 30s and consolidating his dictatorship, Trump in his 70s and struggling to bend Washington to his impetuous will – are unlikely protagonists, both instantly recognisable and larger-than-life.

But their work this week is deadly serious.

Washington and Pyongyang are still technically at war, even if the mortars, carbines and gunships of the bloody 1950s conflict have long since fallen silent.

And the totalitarian regime has made rapid progress towards marrying nuclear and missile technology that would put Los Angeles, New York and Washington within striking distance of a nuclear holocaust.

The United States says that is unacceptable and will be dealt with, one way or another.

But for North Korea the mere fact of the talks is a hugely symbolic advance. 

For its leader, standing as an equal beside the US president in front of a phalanx of cameras is a goal the pariah state has sought for decades, with critics charging that it legitimises one of the most ruthless regimes.