What did the world make of the Kim-Trump summit?

Around Asia and the world, many have welcomed a flurry of diplomacy between the two adversaries in recent months, after a year of mounting tension and threats. 

Hopes for peace on the long-divided Korean Peninsula, however, remain tempered by the many failed attempts in the past. 

The global reaction to the summit has been fairly positive as a whole, while some questioned whether Kim would fully relinquish the weapons he may see as his only guarantee of survival.

TRT World's Jon Brain reports from Singapore on reactions from the international community over the summit.

Reaction within US

While the Trump-Kim summit by and large drew a welcoming reaction from across the globe, not everyone in the US saw the meeting through a positive lens.

TRT World's Ediz Tiyansan reports from Washington. 

South Korea

The leaders of South Korea, Japan and Malaysia were among those wishing for a successful summit.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he "could hardly sleep last night" in anticipation of the meeting and expressed hope for "complete denuclearization and peace".

At a train station in Seoul, the South Korean capital, people cheered and applauded as televisions screens broadcast the Trump-Kim handshake live.

"I really, really hope for a good outcome," said Yoon Ji, a professor at Sungshin University in Seoul. "I am hoping for denuclearization and a peace agreement and also for North Korea's economy to open up."

China

China hopes the United States and North Korea can reach agreement on a peace deal, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said on Tuesday, as the two countries leaders met in Singapore.

China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, welcomed the progress made in the summit, but said more work needs to be done.

"Today, that the two countries' highest leaders can sit together and have equal talks, has important and positive meaning, and is creating a new history," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Wang added that China welcomed their talks and supported them.

"We hope that the two countries' highest leaders can dispel interference, establish mutual trust, overcome difficulties and can reach a basic consensus on promoting and achieving the denuclearisation of the peninsula and promoting and establishing a peace mechanism for the peninsula," Wang told reporters. 

"Of course, we are willing to see all relevant sides making positive efforts on this. China will continue to play our constructive role," he added. 

An editorial in the official English-language China Daily emphasized China's role in bringing Trump and Kim together. It called on them to maintain the positive momentum.

Residents of the Chinese city, Dandong, that stands to benefit the most from a positive outcome from the summit said they were hopeful that it would lead to peace and bolster cross-border business. 

Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed Kim's written commitment to complete denuclearization in an agreement signed with Trump at the end of their meeting in Singapore.

 Abe thanked Trump for raising the issue with Kim and said that "Japan will deal firmly with North Korea face-to-face" to resolve it.

Japan's largest newspaper, the Yomiuri, printed a special edition in both Japanese and English that was distributed for free in major cities 90 minutes after the meeting began.

Passers-by outside a Tokyo train station snapped up 500 copies in a flash, excited to have a souvenir of the historic event. They generally welcomed the meeting as a good first step but wondered if any progress would be made on the fate of Japanese abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

The hard work remains to come, said Momoko Shimada, a 20-year-old student: "After the handshake and political show will be the real action. I believe that won't be easy."

United Nations

According to Al Jazeera, the United Nations is prepared to play a verification role following talks in Singapore.   

 "Relevant parts of the United Nations system stand ready ready to support this process in any way, including verification if requested," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

China has suggested that the UN Security Council could consider suspending or lifting sanctions against North Korea if Pyongyang is in compliance with UN resolutions and making progress in diplomatic negotiations. 

European Union 

The EU praised the summit as a “crucial and necessary step”. 

“This summit was a crucial and necessary step to build upon the positive developments achieved in inter-Korean relations and on the peninsula so far,” the EU’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement. 

Mogherini stressed that the aim of the international community remained “the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” — a longstanding formulation that implies Pyongyang allowing inspections and not rebuilding any weapons it gives up. 

“The joint statement signed by the US and DPRK leaders today gives a clear signal that this goal can be achieved,” Mogherini said, using an abbreviation for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

TRT World's Sarah Morice reports from London. 

Iran

The spokesman for the Iranian government warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that President Donald Trump could nullify any nuclear deal with North Korea. 

The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Bagher Nobakht saying, "We are facing a man who revokes his signature while abroad." 

Nobakht's remarks are the first by an Iranian official after Trump and Kim concluded their nuclear summit. 

Rodman weeps

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman openly wept on television in a live interview from Singapore on Tuesday as Trump and Kim met for the first time. 

He expressed hope that Trump and Kim would be able to make progress — but said he believes that "all the pressure is on Donald Trump," not Kim.