North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump have arrived at the summit venue Singapore. The historic first meeting of the two leaders will discuss a peace treaty and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Kim arrived first at the Capella Resort, on Singapore’s Sentosa Island, shortly before 9 am local time. He ignored the cameras, walking into the hotel with eyeglasses in hand. Trump followed a few minutes later, turning to face the cameras with a carefully neutral expression before he entered the venue.

The historic handshake of the two leaders before a row of US and North Korean flags took place at 9:04. Trump smiled and patted Kim on the back, ushering him towards the conference room. Trump said earlier he would know whether the summit would succeed within the first few minutes of meeting with Kim.

“We will have a great relationship, I have no doubt,” Trump said in a brief photo-op.

“Past practices and prejudices were obstacles on our way forward, but we overcame all of them and are here today,” Kim said. “That’s true,” quipped Trump.

The two are scheduled to meet for two hours in private, accompanied only by their translators. </s> United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday told North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un that his country has tremendous economic potential.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump gestures as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down for a dinner during the second US-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi.

CNN quoted Trump as saying, “I think your country has tremendous economic potential. I think you will have a tremendous future for your country, you’re a great leader. We will help it to happen.”

The two leaders met for a second summit in Vietnam’s Hanoi and Trump made these comments during a dinner with Kim.

The North Korean leader said that his second meeting with the US president was possible because of the “courageous political decision” taken by Trump.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands before their one-on-one chat.

While addressing reporters on Wednesday, Kim said that there had been “a lot of thinking, effort and patience” between now and last June.

Trump and Kim met in June last year for their first-ever summit in Singapore.

Kim further asserted that the “outside world” has “misunderstood” the US-North Korean relationship in the period after the Singapore summit. He also expressed hope that the Hanoi summit delivers “an outcome welcome by everyone”.

When quizzed if he’d walked back his vow to insist upon the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, Trump said he had not.

IMAGE: People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, in Seoul, South Korea.

When questioned about his plan to declare an end to the Korean War, Trump said, “We will see.”

On Wednesday, Trump also held a meeting with Vietnam’s President Nguyen Phu Trong and thanked the country’s leadership for agreeing to host the second US-North Korea Summit.

Talking to the media after the meeting, he promoted the idea of a prosperous North Korea by citing the “good example” of Communist Vietnam.

IMAGE: A man walks while holding a painting of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Trump chose Hanoi for the summit to show Kim that old enemies could be friends of the US after it mends its ways.

The US has reinforced that sanctions would only be eased once full denuclearisation is achieved by Pyongyang -- a stand which the US stuck to even with the second summit drawing near.

Unlike the last summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim are expected to address a joint press conference after the meeting. </s> President Donald Trump signaled on Thursday that he still expects to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore, saying he's 'hopeful' that the summit will happen as scheduled.

But he warned at the same time that just one sit-down with the communist country may not be enough to ensure it doesn't pose a nuclear threat.

The two leaders are expected to sit down to negotiate the terms of North Korea's withdrawal from an effort to build a nuclear weapon that could reach the United States.

Trump tweeted that the U.S. had been engaging in 'very good meetings with North Korea.'

He also said as he left Joint Base Andrews for Texas that he expects to receive a formal letter on Friday from Kim, carried by a delegation sent to Washington.

'I look forward to seeing what’s in the letter,' Trump said on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One.

'I think it will be very positive. The meetings have been very positive,' he said of talks that have proceeded in advance of the expected leader-to-leader discussion.

'Hopefully we will have a meeting on the 12th. That's going along very well,' he told reporters.

But the president cautioned against expecting too much from a single summit meeting with the hermit kingdom's despot.

'I want it to be meaningful. It doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting. Maybe a second and third and maybe we'll have none,' he said.

'It's in good hands. That I can tell you.'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a working dinner on Wednesday in New York City with top North Korean aide Kim Yong-chol.

The pair dined on 'steak, corn, and cheese,' according to the secretary of state.

The meeting took place as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang for talks with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho.

Kim Yong-chol is the most senior North Korean official to visit the United States since 2000, when Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok traveled to Washington to meet with then-President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.

He is conducting one of three sets of parallel talks in the U.S. aimed at salvaging the nuclear summit. </s> The President of the United States Donald Trump reportedly plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 27-28.

The meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un is planned to take place in Vietnam, Politico reported.

Trump is reportedly expected to formally announce details of his second summit with Kim during his State of the Union address to Congress later on Tuesday night.

Earlier, the US State Department said in a press release that US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun was about to travel to Pyongyang on February 6 for talks to prepare for the second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

The long-standing tensions on the Korean Peninsula started to ease after Kim Jong-un committed to denuclearization of Korean peninsula and held historic summits with US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. </s> Washington: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday he's "very hopeful" that a planned US-North Korean summit will proceed but laid the fate of the historic meeting squarely with Kim Jong-un, who won't be reassured by US demands for "rapid denuclearisation."

The decision about whether the June 12 meeting in Singapore between Kim and President Donald Trump happens is "ultimately up to Chairman Kim," Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Lawmakers' questioning of Pompeo followed Trump's comment on Tuesday that "there's a very substantial chance" the meeting would not proceed as scheduled.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday, "whatever it is, we will know next week about Singapore and if we go I think it will be a great thing for North Korea."

Amid the uncertainty, a White House team is headed to Singapore this weekend to work on logistics for the trip. White House spokesman Raj Shah said the effort would be led by Joe Hagin, deputy chief of staff for operations. Shah noted that an advance team goes out ahead of all scheduled presidential teams.

Also, the UN Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea has cleared the way for all members of Kim's delegation to travel to Singapore for the Trump meeting - even if they are on the UN sanctions blacklist, according to diplomats at the world body who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process was private. </s> SINGAPORE: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Sunday (Jun 10), two days before a planned summit with United States President Donald Trump.

"The entire world is focusing on the historic summit between the DPRK and the US, and thanks to your sincere efforts ... we were able to complete the preparations for the historic summit, and I would like to thank you for that," Mr Kim, speaking through an interpreter, told PM Lee.



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"I have the expectation that this (summit) will be very successful."

During the meeting, Mr Lee and Mr Kim discussed Singapore-North Korea relations, as well as developments in the North and the region.

Mr Lee complimented the bold and admirable decision by Mr Kim and US President Trump to come together for Tuesday's summit.

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Mr Lee also wished Mr Kim success for the summit and expressed hope that the meeting will advance the prospects for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the larger region.

"We discussed developments in the Korean Peninsula, as well as in the region," said Mr Lee in a Facebook post. "I complimented him on his decision to meet President Trump, and wished him a successful summit and a good stay in Singapore."





The meeting took place less than four hours after Mr Kim touched down at the Changi Airport, where he was received by Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung.

Mr Kim's motorcade left Changi Aiport accompanied by traffic police escorts as it headed for the St Regis Hotel, where he is expected to stay.

Kim Jong Un landed in Singapore on Sunday afternoon (Jun 10).

Mr Trump is staying at the Shangri-La Hotel, which is also in the Tanglin area within Singapore’s city centre.



Motorcade for Kim Jong Un arrives at St Regis Hotel in downtown Singapore. #TrumpKimSummit https://t.co/dw8NVVcNEs pic.twitter.com/bdtI68Alzg — CNA (@ChannelNewsAsia) June 10, 2018

The two leaders are to meet on Tuesday at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island where talks on denuclearisation of North Korea in exchange for economic help will be on the table.

Both Sentosa and the Tanglin area have been designated special event areas by the police and security has been tightened at both places.

Last week, Singapore authorities also warned travellers arriving at and departing from Singapore to expect flight delays as airspace will be restricted from Sunday to Thursday.

More than 2,500 journalists have descended on Singapore to cover the event, and will be based at a media centre at the F1 pit building.

The unprecedented meeting, the first time a sitting US president meets a North Korean leader, was nearly called off just two weeks before the event.

Watch our comprehensive coverage of the Trump-Kim summit live on YouTube from 7am on Tuesday (Jun 12). Subscribe to our channel here.

You can also watch the livestream, and read updates at www.channelnewsasia.com/trumpkimsummit. </s> President Donald Trump says the U.S. will know by next week whether his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be held on June 12 in Singapore as scheduled.

"It could very well be June 12th," Trump said Wednesday. "If we go, it'll be a great thing for North Korea."

North Korea has indicated it might call off the meeting due to disagreements on conditions by the United States for unilateral denuclearization.

Trump on Tuesday, during a meeting with visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said the summit might not be held next month.

"If it doesn't happen, maybe it will happen later," Trump said.

The president said, "There are certain conditions that we want. I think we will get those conditions."

Asked about the conditions, Trump replied, "I'd rather not say." But he stated that the denuclearization of North Korea "must take place."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has twice met with Kim in Pyongyang in preparation for the Singapore summit, said Wednesday, "Our posture will not change until we see credible steps taken toward the complete, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." </s> Singapore - President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un converged on this island city-state Sunday ahead of one of the most unusual and highly anticipated summits in recent world history, a Tuesday sit-down meant to settle a standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal.

Trump descended from Air Force One into the steamy Singapore night, greeting officials and declaring he felt "very good," before he was whisked away to his hotel, driving along a route lined with police and photo snapping onlookers. Trump traveled to Singapore from Canada, where he attended a meeting of the Group of Seven Nations.

Hours earlier, a jet carrying Kim landed. After shaking hands with the Singapore foreign minister, Kim sped through the city's streets in a massive limousine, two large North Korean flags fluttering on the hood, surrounded by other black vehicles with tinted windows and bound for the luxurious and closely guarded St. Regis Hotel.

Kim smiled broadly Sunday evening as he met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

"The entire world is watching the historic summit between (North Korea) and the United States of America, and thanks to your sincere efforts ... we were able to complete the preparations for the historic summit," Kim told Lee through an interpreter.

Trump is set to meet with Lee on Monday.

Trump has said he hopes to win a legacy-making deal with the North to give up their nuclear weapons, though he has recently sought to manage expectations, saying that it may take more than one meeting.

The North, many experts believe, stands on the brink of 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.

This will be the first summit of its kind between a leader of North Korea and a sitting US president. The North has faced crippling diplomatic and economic sanctions as it has advanced development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The North Korean autocrat's every move will be followed by 3,000 journalists who have converged on Singapore, and by gawkers around the world, up until he shakes hands with Trump on Tuesday. It's a reflection of the intense global curiosity over Kim's sudden turn to diplomacy in recent months after a slew of North Korean nuclear and missile tests last year raised serious fears of war.

Part of the interest in Tuesday's summit is simply because Kim has had such limited appearances on the world stage. He has only publicly left his country three times since taking power after his father's death in late 2011 - twice traveling to China and once across his shared border with the South to the southern part of the Demilitarised Zone in recent summits with the leaders of China and South Korea respectively.

But it's Kim's pursuit of nuclear weapons that gives his meeting with Trump such high stakes. The meeting was initially meant to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, but the talks have been portrayed by Trump in recent days more as a get-to-know-you session. Trump has also raised the possibility of further summits and an agreement ending the Korean War by replacing the armistice signed in 1953 with a peace treaty. China and South Korea would have to sign off on any legal treaty.

It's unclear what Trump and Kim might decide on Tuesday.

Pyongyang has said it is willing to deal away its entire nuclear arsenal if the United States provides it with a reliable security assurance and other benefits. But many say this is highly unlikely, given how hard it has been for Kim to build his program and that the weapons are seen as the major guarantee to holding onto his unchecked power.

Any nuclear deal will hinge on North Korea's willingness to allow unfettered outside inspections of the country's warheads and nuclear fuel, much of which is likely kept in a vast complex of underground facilities. Past nuclear deals have crumbled over North Korea's reluctance to open its doors to outsiders.

Another possibility from the summit is a deal to end the Korean War, which North Korea has long demanded, presumably, in part, to get US troops off the Korean Peninsula and, eventually, pave the way for a North Korean-led unified Korea.

The fighting ended on July 27, 1953, but the war technically continues today because instead of a difficult-to-negotiate peace treaty, military officers for the US-led United Nations, North Korea and China signed an armistice that halted the fighting. The North may see a treaty - and its presumed safety assurances from Washington - as its best way of preserving the Kim family dynasty. The ensuing recognition as a "normal country" could then allow sanctions relief, and later international aid and investment.

Just meeting with Trump will also give Kim a recognition North Korea has long sought, setting him up as global player and equal to the US domestically and, internationally, as the leader of a "normal country" worthy of respect. </s> BANGKOK — A second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set for Vietnam’s capital from Feb. 27-28.

Trump and Kim met last June in Singapore, outreach the American president has said opened a path to peace. But that face-to-face hasn’t resulted in any solid plan for ridding the North of nuclear weapons.

The Singapore summit made history by simply being the first-ever meeting between sitting leaders of the longtime enemies. It was filled with pageantry and memorable moments, such as the first handshake, walks in a garden, and a brief glimpse inside Trump’s limousine.

This time, observers will be looking for something more concrete.

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Donald Trump says that he might invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the United States if the planned summit meeting in Singapore goes well.