ZB ZB
Live now
Start time
Playing for
End time
Listen live
Listen to NAME OF STATION
Up next
Listen live on
ZB

The world watches as Trump, Kim finally meet

Author
Washington Post,
Publish Date
Tue, 12 Jun 2018, 1:28PM
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump have finally come face to face.
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump have finally come face to face.

The world watches as Trump, Kim finally meet

Author
Washington Post,
Publish Date
Tue, 12 Jun 2018, 1:28PM

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have made history with a handshake and greeting before a one-on-one meeting in Singapore.

The discussions will give both a chance to size each other up and start discussions that could open the door to negotiations on denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

The two leaders exchanged a handshake, arm and back pats, and initial words at a secluded island resort off the coast of Singapore.

Trump had a distinctive height advantage over Kim and directed the younger man in the manner of a host. Kim flashed a smile before the cameras.

They are now in a private meeting, accompanied only by interpreters.

Though squadrons of US Administration officials have been preparing for this encounter for months, the 45-minute meeting will be potentially improvisational.

It will be followed by a more formal bilateral meeting that will be joined by aides.

The US side is expected to include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

"Meetings between staffs and representatives are going well and quickly... but in the end, that doesn't matter," Trump tweeted before dawn in Singapore.

"We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!"

Earlier, Kim's black armoured limousine with two large North Korean flags was surrounded by police vehicles, their lights flashing, and other black cars as he arrived.

There's excitement surrounding the summit but also scepticism that the North will relinquish a nuclear weapons programme it spent decades building despite crushing sanctions.

Kim and Trump are scheduled to meet alone, with their interpreters, after greeting each other at the resort.

North Korea's state media has reported on Kim Jong Un's late-night tour of Singapore with unusual speed.

Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun filled its front page with photos of his visits to Singapore's landmarks, including the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands resort.

The North's Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as saying that Singapore is "clean and beautiful and every building is stylish" and that he will learn "a lot from the good knowledge and experience of Singapore in various fields in the future.


- Washington Post

Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you