Trump Kim Summit: US and North Korean Leaders Hold Historic Talks

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

June 12, 2018//-Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have become the first sitting US president and North Korean leader to meet, an unprecedented development after a year of exchanging threats.

The pair shook hands at a luxury hotel in Singapore’s Sentosa island after months of diplomatic twists and turns.

They are now set to discuss defusing tensions and nuclear disarmament.

Analysts are split on what it will achieve. Some see it as propaganda win for Mr Kim, others a path to peace.

How the historic moment unfolded

The two men walked towards each other and firmly gripped each other’s hands in front of US and North Korean flags.

In brief initial comments in front of the press, the US president predicted a “terrific relationship” with Mr Kim.

“I feel really great. We’re going to have a great discussion and will be tremendously successful,” the US president said.

Sitting alongside each other, the pair appeared relaxed, against the odds. The convivial display marks a dramatic breakthrough in relations between the pair, who less than a year ago, exchanged fiery insults and threats of war.

“It was not easy to get here….There were obstacles but we overcame them to be here,” Mr Kim said.

The leaders have finished a one-to-one meeting, with translators, which ran for about 40 minutes. They were then joined by advisors for a working lunch.

The talks – unimaginable just a few months ago – will focus on North Korea’s controversial nuclear programme.

The leaders walk together at the Capella hotel in Singapore

What does this mean for each man?

The momentous event carries great potential prestige for each leader – but also, in the long run, a possibly catastrophic loss of face.

For the moment Mr Trump will credit any successful outcome of talks to his “maximum pressure” campaign on North Korea, that tightened economic sanctions and threatened military action. Many believe that no matter what is achieved this will be the narrative.

For Mr Kim, securing a stage with the US leader is seen as a victory in itself, something which neither his father or grandfather could achieve.

Such a meeting has long been seen as a prize in the eyes of North Korea for the legitimacy it would confer on its leader.

Kim’s journey from outcast to statesman

For decades, North Korea has been a pariah state, and now its latest hereditary leader is being treated as a world statesman.

Last year, it would have been a rare sight to see a North Korean flag flying anywhere in Asia.

Now, Mr Kim – who runs a totalitarian regime with extreme censorship and forced-labour camps – is meeting and greeting dignitaries.

On the eve of the summit, Mr Kim toured Singapore’s tourist sites, waving to excited crowds and snapped a selfie with the city state’s foreign minister.

Tuesday’s front page of North Korea’s official newspaper featured the extraordinary scenes on display in Singapore, offering many in the country and unprecedented glimpse of their leader in a setting utterly at odds with their daily life.

What will the talks cover?

The US wants North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons in an irreversible manner that can be verified by the international community.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would only accept “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation” – but would offer “unique” security guarantees.

But analysts question why Mr Kim would give up his nuclear weapons after pushing so hard to get them.

A formal end to the Korean war may also be discussed. The 1950-53 conflict ended with a truce, not a final peace treaty. Mr Trump says signing a peace agreement would probably be “the easy part”.

How did we get here?

This is an outcome that seemed unimaginable less than a year ago – when Mr Trump and Mr Kim exchanged streams of fiery insults – and North Korea conducted several ballistic missile tests in defiance of the international community.

Meanwhile, Mr Kim has called Mr Trump “mentally deranged” and a “dotard”.

But earlier this year North Korea showed a new openness to diplomacy and held direct talks with Seoul. The rapid improvement in relations between the North and South Korea – technically still at war – culminated with a historic leaders’ summit in April.

During this warming of relations between the two Koreas, Mr Trump stunned the world by accepting an invitation to meet Mr Kim.

But the road to the Singapore talks has been far from smooth.

The lead-up to the summit has been marked by uncertainty and waves of frenetic diplomacy – at one point, Mr Trump even briefly called off the summit.

What happens now?

The one-on-one discussion lasted less than 40 minutes and as Mr Kim is due to leave Singapore at 2pm local time (06:00 GMT), there is some doubt over the level of detail that may be contained in any final statement.

It’s unclear what we can expect from here but reports yesterday suggested that negotiators were far from an agreement that would mark a significant shift.

BBC

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