SINGAPORE: The world watched transfixed as the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean head of state took place in Singapore on Tuesday (Jun 12). 

As crowds lined the streets of Singapore to see Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un head off for their meeting in the morning, millions more tuned in to watch the historic moment unfold “live”.

The event was closely followed in the South Korean capital Seoul, where thousands gathered at railway stations and across various locations for public screenings of the landmark summit.  

“Looking at the two leaders shaking hands, I thought … ‘I am living in a historical moment’,” said Jung A-im, a university student.

Many others watched live footage of the summit on their phones.

“A great shift in world history is in the making,” one Internet user said in a comment response to a news story.

Spontaneous applause broke out the moment Kim and Trump stepped out and greeted one another with a cordial handshake. 

Giant screens at prominent buildings around Seoul also broadcast the meeting, with many stopping to soak in the momentous nature of the event. 

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency showed President Moon Jae-in smiling at the moment Trump and Kim shook hands. 

“The North Korea-US summit has now started,” Yonhap quoted Moon as saying during a Cabinet meeting. “I guess the attention of all our people must currently be directed toward Singapore.”

He added: “I spent a sleepless night. I, along with all our people, sincerely hope that it will be a successful summit that will open a new era of complete denuclearisation, peace and a new relationship between South Korea, North Korea and the United States.”

But there were also protests in Seoul, with anti-war activists rallying outside the US embassy to call for peace treaty and an end to nearly 70 years of hostilities. The 1950-53 Korean War was concluded only with a truce, not a peace treaty.

In Los Angeles’ Koreatown, many gathered for communal screenings of the summit and cheered and clapped when images of the handshake beamed from Singapore. 

Koreatown has one of the largest concentrations of Koreans in the US, and many residents there expressed their hope for a positive outcome in the lead-up to the Singapore summit. 

On the US east coast, crowds also took part in mass viewings of the event – with many gathered at New York’s Times Square to watch the summit on TV screens. 

In Tokyo, people rushed to get special editions of newspapers covering the summit as the Japanese closely watch the movements of Kim, who in the past has sent rockets flying over Japan. 

Markets in Japan kept a close eye on proceedings in Singapore. 

Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Tuesday morning, buoyed by optimism the summit could pave the way for denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

The Nikkei rose 0.5 per cent to 22,906.14 in midmorning trade, after dipping in negative territory briefly. The Nikkei was just a hair under its four-month high.

SINGAPORE: The leaders of the United States and North Korea met for the first time in Singapore on Tuesday (Jun 12).

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un shook hands in front of the world’s media as they met to negotiate an end to a decades-old stand-off on the Korean Peninsula.

The historic handshake took place at 9.05am at the Capella hotel in Sentosa, in front of a display of North Korean and US flags. Both Trump and Kim smiled and exchanged pleasantries before posing for photographs.

They then adjourned to a sitting room where both Trump and Kim fielded questions. Trump spoke first and said: “It’s my honour … We will have a terrific relationship I have no doubt.”

Speaking in Korean, Kim said that “it was not easy to get here” and “the old prejudices and practices worked as obstacles, but we have overcome them and we are here today”.

The leaders then proceeded to have a one-on-one meeting with only their translators present, before stepping out after around 40 minutes to wave at the assembled media from a balcony. 

They were later joined by their delegations for a series of meetings. Both sides are also scheduled to have a working lunch after their meetings.

Anticipation had been building in the lead-up to the unprecedented summit, with crowds lining the streets of Singapore when they arrived on Sunday.

Both leaders left their hotels in the Orchard area of Singapore shortly after 8am local time on Tuesday as they headed for Sentosa, which is off Singapore’s southern coast.

The route was lined by curious on-lookers and the media, with people standing three- to four-deep in some parts taking photos and waving as they craned to catch a glimpse of the leaders.  

Trump, who left at around 8.05am from the Shangri-La Hotel, tweeted en route to the summit venue on a US Supreme Court ruling.

Kim left the St Regis hotel shortly before 8.15am as his convoy – comprising about 20 security, North Korean state media and official vehicles – made its way to Sentosa.

Crowds also camped out at VivoCity, outside the Sentosa Gateway, and on pavements in Sentosa to take photos and wave at the passing convoys of both leaders.

Kim arrived for the meeting with his sister and confidante Kim Yo Jong and his trusted aide Kim Chang Son.

TRUMP OPTIMISTIC

The extraordinary summit – unthinkable only months ago – comes after the two nuclear-armed foes appeared on the verge of conflict late last year as they slung personal insults and Kim conducted nuclear and missile tests.

In a series of tweets early Tuesday morning Singapore time, Trump indicated that summit preparations were “going well and quickly”.

“We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen,” he tweeted – before hitting out in a subsequent post at “haters & losers” who see the summit itself as a risky up-front concession to Kim.

Pointing at the recent release of three American hostages and Pyongyang’s pledge to refrain from further nuclear or missile tests, Trump charged that “these pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say!”

“We will be fine!” he tweeted.

Trump had also said that he would use what he says are long-honed instincts to see whether Kim was bluffing, buying time or serious.

Both Kim and Trump held bilateral talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday, when the US president also met with the American community in Singapore at the Shangri-La Hotel.

Prime Minister Lee had on Sunday said that Singapore will spend S$20 million on the summit, adding that he hoped the historic meeting would result in a positive outcome. 

Kim took in the sights of the city on Monday night as he visited Gardens by the Bay and walked along the Marina Bay waterfront.

He was accompanied by a phalanx of bodyguards and North Korean state media personnel, as well as Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung.​​​​​​​

DEAL REMAINS TO BE SEEN

It remains far from clear that Pyongyang is willing to give up its nuclear weapons, which it says it needs to defend itself against a US invasion.

On the eve of the meeting, aides from both sides were still scrambling to narrow yawning differences over “denuclearisation”, which means vastly different things to the two parties.

“The complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is the only outcome that the United States will accept,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on the eve of the summit.

Pompeo added that the US was willing to offer the regime “unique” security guarantees, to “provide them sufficient certainty that they can be comfortable that denuclearisation is not something that ends badly for them”.

We’re live on YouTube with our comprehensive coverage on the Trump-Kim summit. Watch here.

You can also catch the livestream and read updates at www.channelnewsasia.com/trumpkimsummit.

SINGAPORE: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un explored Singapore on Monday night (Jun 11), the day before his historic summit with United States President Donald Trump

The North Korean leader was spotted walking around the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay with his entourage.

Mr Kim was pictured smiling next to Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung in a photo posted on Twitter by Dr Balakrishnan. The trio appeared to be at Gardens by the Bay.

Mr Kim was also seen at the Marina Bay Sands, and appeared to be heading up to the SkyPark. 

His sister Kim Yo Jong was spotted with him.

A flurry of activity was seen outside the St Regis Hotel where Mr Kim is staying as his motorcade left the hotel at around 9pm.

Mr Kim and Mr Trump are scheduled to meet at Sentosa’s Capella hotel on Tuesday. This will be the first time a sitting US president and a North Korean leader will meet face to face.

Mr Kim met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday at the Istana, where the two discussed bilateral relations.

SINGAPORE: Shortly after a group of suited North Korean diplomats set out from their Singapore hotel on Monday (Jun 11) for talks with US officials on the eve of a historic summit, a bigger group of North Koreans headed out in summery shirts for some shopping.

US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sentosa island on Tuesday for an unprecedented summit aimed at getting the North to give up its nuclear weapons.

For the leader of isolated North Korea and his delegation of dozens of officials, state media workers and security staff, the rare foreign trip is an opportunity to build diplomatic bridges and to explore the capitalist successes in Singapore.

The North Korean delegation is staying at the five-star St Regis hotel where the lobby has a cream-coloured marble floor, chandeliers and large artworks on the walls.

The hotel’s lavish S$47 per person buffet breakfast costs about the same as what most North Koreans earn in a month.

Among the three dozen or so North Koreans seen at breakfast on Monday were some of the regime’s most powerful men, usually only spotted by North Korea watchers in photographs published in state media as they line up at official events.

Four-star general and vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim Yong Chol, party vice chairman and director of its International Affairs Department Ri Su Yong and foreign minister Ri Yong Ho, were among them.

Hotel staff discouraged other guests from interacting with the North Koreans, or taking their photographs.

North Korean media staff sampled Chinese dim sum, pastries and fried eggs and took souvenir photographs of each other in the grand dining hall.

Such treats are unheard of for most North Koreans, even for government officials, who have seen their chances of overseas travel wither in recent years as their country’s isolation has increased under sanctions imposed over its nuclear and missile programmes.

Totalitarian North Korea’s governing ideology of “Juche”, which champions self-sufficiency, has brought little but decades of economic stagnation, widespread poverty and, at times, starvation.

Most ordinary North Koreans rely on a monotonous diet of rice, corn, kimchi and bean paste, and they lack essential fats and protein, according to testimonies from defectors and from UN officials allowed to visit.

The UN World Food Programme says a quarter of North Korean children under five, who attend nurseries that it supports, suffer from chronic malnutrition.

MCDONALD’S AND STATIONERY

On Sunday night, hours after Kim and his delegation arrived in Singapore, Reuters reporters saw North Korean officials, some wearing pin badges of their leaders, ordering US$100-plus-per-person dinners at the hotel’s high-end Chinese restaurant.

Others appeared to go for Western fast food.

A group of North Korean security staff were seen coming back into the hotel with cardboard boxes, one with McDonald’s takeaway. North Korea is one of the world’s few countries without a McDonald’s.

Two North Korean officials, whose identity could not be confirmed, were seen returning from the shopping trip with bags from the NBC Stationery and Gifts shop.

The North Koreans are staying on the top three floors of the St Regis, a Reuters reporter discovered.

The upper floors have suites at more than S$5,000 a night and the Presidential Suite, at about S$9,000 a night, according to the hotel’s website. 

The Presidential Suite has a dining room, living room, study, bedroom and terrace, workout room, steam room, a butler service and kitchen.

The St Regis declined to comment on who was staying on the top floors, or how many rooms the North Koreans were occupying.

Reuters could not confirm if leader Kim was staying in the Presidential Suite.

Singapore, doing its bit to promote peace, has said it expects to spend about S$20 million on hosting the summit, including the North Koreans’ hotel bill, Singapore’s foreign minister told the BBC.

SINGAPORE: When news emerged that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be staying at the St Regis Hotel, the manager of a nearby Starbucks joint thought the hordes of journalists camped out there would mean good business.

While the manager, who did not want to be named, said “plenty” of journalists had patronised the outlet in Tanglin Mall ahead of the Trump-Kim summit on Tuesday (Jun 12), the numbers were not as large as he had expected.

“Business is about the same, just a slight rise,” the manager told Channel NewsAsia on Monday. “There are more people around the area but not a lot of them coming in.”

More than 2,500 journalists are in Singapore for the landmark summit, with United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim meeting at the Capella Hotel in Sentosa at 9am on Tuesday to discuss Pyongyang’s denuclearisation.

The media frenzy, along with the heightened security in the Tanglin area, had the potential to cause disruption, but businesses and passers-by said life went on largely as per normal.

Dozens of journalists and camera crew, many donning hats and sunglasses in the 30 degrees Celsius heat, waited in front of the hotel, eager to catch any sign of Mr Kim.

Police officers on partially-closed Tanglin Road checked vehicles headed for the hotel, while police vehicles occupied the fully-closed Tomlinson Road. A pair of Gurkhas stood guard by the road entering and leaving the hotel.

The media scrum and police blockades meant passers-by had to tread a narrow path to get to the other side of the hotel, which is especially troublesome for those pushing strollers.

But the obstructions didn’t seem to bother one tourist from Melbourne. “It’s no inconvenience,” said Mr Denis, who was visiting his daughter living in Singapore. “The journalists were blocking a little bit, but that’s their job.”

Journalists were also seen crowding the entrance to Treknology3, a bicycle shop on Tanglin Road. But sales assistant Jonathan said the effect has been positive.

“You have this, people will come down this way and discover the store,” he said, adding that he has been seeing more walk-in customers. “There’s an increase in awareness that we are here.”

“GOOD FOR SINGAPORE”

Attention also centred on the journalists themselves, with passers-by taking photos of the scene and one giggly group of teenage girls sneaking in shots of a handsome Caucasian correspondent.

Retiree Mr Wu, 71, said he didn’t mind the intense media attention as it put Singapore on the world map. “There are a lot of international journalists here,” he said. “It’s very grand, good for Singapore.”

The self-professed “busybody” said he waited outside the Shangri-La Hotel to catch a glimpse of Mr Trump’s motorcade before heading over to St Regis. “Is Kim coming out?” he asked. “I’d like to see the motorcades.”

Mr Wu said he had no issues with the tight security and road closures either. “We were only stopped when the motorcade went out,” he said. “I even took a bus here.”

Then there was Mr Jun Miyagawa, who came from Japan to sell US and North Korea souvenirs outside St Regis.

The 68-year-old Japanese, who arrived on Sunday and will stay for a week, was selling each country’s flag for S$10 a piece and North Korea guidebooks and maps for S$15 each. Business was “so-so”, he said.

“I came here to feel and study the historical summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un,” he added. “I guess the flags will be useful for tomorrow’s event.”

Still, it was not long before plainclothes police officers caught up with Mr Miyagawa, in another example of the heightened security in the area.

The officers checked his passport, flipped through his books and asked him questions about North Korea. Mr Miyagawa packed up his wares and left about 45 minutes later.

Like Mr Miyagawa, the Australian tourist Mr Denis feels the summit will be significant. “I hope for a really good outcome between the two of them,” he said. “It’s better for all of us.”

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.

SINGAPORE: Amid the flurry of activity in the lead-up to the historic US-North Korea summit, there was some time on Monday (Jun 11) to celebrate President Donald Trump’s birthday. 

He turns 72 on Thursday, and his Singapore hosts made sure that was not forgotten. A birthday cake was brought out during the working lunch at the Istana with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and officials from both sides.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan shared the moment on social media, saying: “Celebrating birthday, a bit early.”

Lunch included dishes like lobster bisque, angus beef tenderloin and ice-cream, according to a copy of the menu spotted in a photo posted by Education Minister Ong Ye Kung on social media.

Mr Trump is widely reported to like his steak well done, with a side of ketchup. No word on how his beef was cooked at the lunch.

At the lunch, Mr Trump expressed optimism for Tuesday’s meeting with Mr Kim and also thanked his Singapore hosts for their hospitality. 

“We have a very interesting meeting in particular tomorrow, and I think things can work out very nicely,” he said. “But we appreciate your hospitality and professionalism and your friendship.” 

Mr Trump also tweeted a video of highlights from his meeting with Mr Lee with the caption: “Thank you Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong!”

In a Facebook post on Monday evening, Mr Lee said that Mr Trump hosted him at the White House last October, and that he was “glad to reciprocate his hospitality”. 

“I wished him all the best for tomorrow’s summit, which we hope will be a first step on the path to peace,” the Prime Minister also said, adding that he was “looking forward to a positive outcome”. 

Mr Trump has accepted an invitation from his Singapore counterpart Halimah Yacob to make a state visit here in November.

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and United States President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting on Monday (Jun 11), just one day before Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are due to meet for a planned summit on Sentosa island.

Mr Trump was received by Mr Lee at the Istana, and was accompanied by secretary of state Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and White House chief of staff John Kelly. 

Mr Lee also hosted a working lunch for Mr Trump and his delegation. At the lunch, Mr Trump expressed optimism for Tuesday’s meeting with Mr Kim and also thanked his Singapore hosts for their hospitality. 

“We have a very interesting meeting in particular tomorrow, and I think things can work out very nicely,” he said. “But we appreciate your hospitality and professionalism and your friendship.” 

In a photo shared by Education Minister Ong Ye Kung on social media, the lunch menu appeared to include lobster bisque, angus beef tenderloin and chendol ice-cream.

The delegations also celebrated the birthday of Mr Trump, who turns 72 on Jun 14, Mr Balakrishnan tweeted.

Mr Trump’s motorcade left the Shangri-La Hotel, where he is staying, shortly before noon to make the short journey to the Istana. Crowds of curious onlookers lined the convoy’s route, taking photographs and waving.

Mr Trump also waved to the crowds who lined the streets.

Earlier on Monday morning, Mr Trump tweeted saying it was “great to be in Singapore, excitement is in the air”.

Following his meeting with Mr Lee, Mr Trump accepted an invitation from President Halimah Yacob to make a state visit to Singapore in November 2018, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

MFA added that Mr Lee and Mr Trump had a “good discussion” on a wide range of regional and global developments. Both leaders also reaffirmed “excellent” bilateral relations.

The US president tweeted “Thank you Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong” after the meeting, along with a White House video of the meeting’s highlights.

The day began with a series of meetings between North Korean and US officials at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, where US envoy Sung Kim met with high-ranking North Korean diplomats.

Mr Trump, who arrived in Singapore on Sunday evening, was due to meet with US embassy officials later on Monday afternoon.  

Mr Trump had cut short his time at the G7 summit in Canada to come to Singapore for the Tuesday meeting with Mr Kim, which will be held at Sentosa’s Capella hotel.

The unprecedented meeting, which is the first time a sitting US president meets a North Korean leader, will see the two leaders discuss Pyongyang’s denuclearisation, in return for economic help and security guarantees. 

Mr Lee also held a separate meeting at the Istana with Mr Kim on Sunday. 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 also complimented the bold and admirable decision by Mr Kim and Mr Trump to come together for Tuesday’s summit. 

More than 2,500 journalists from around the world have converged on Singapore to cover the landmark summit.

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.

LONDON: European stocks edged higher on Monday, shrugging off the weekend’s fractious G7 meeting as investors looked forward to an event-packed week while receding tensions in Italy nudged the euro towards a recent three-week high.

President Donald Trump’s rejection of a previously signed communique separates the United States from its traditional global economic allies and underlines trade tensions, though markets have taken the news as yet another theatrical gesture by the U.S. administration.

If anything, markets believe the G7 summit might force policymakers to adopt a cautious stance as two of the world’s top central banks – the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank – are set to tighten policy this week.

“Though the latest headlines are definitely not positive for global trade, risk appetite is broadly firm across the board as investors are of the view it might force the ECB and the Fed to take a cautious approach,” said Neil Mellor, a senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in London.

While stocks wobbled and the dollar edged higher in initial reaction to the G7, which Societe Generale termed as a “mess”, markets quickly recouped losses, with stocks firmer across the board on expectations that any withdrawal in policy stimulus would be very gradual on the backdrop of rising trade tensions.

An MSCI index of European stocks was up 0.7 percent in early trading, not far from a recent two-week high.

The S&P 500 futures were 0.1 percent lower after dropping as much as 0.3 percent in early trading, indicating a firm start for Wall Street.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped early but was last up 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also gained 0.3 percent while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5 percent.

The Fed is almost certain to raise rates again on Wednesday, inching closer to a neutral policy stance, while the ECB is likely to signal on Thursday that its 2.55 trillion euro bond purchase scheme will end this year, a key move in dismantling crisis-era stimulus.

ITALY CONCERNS RECEDE

Also helping risk appetite in early Monday trading were comments from Italy’s new coalition government saying it had no intention of leaving the euro zone and planned to cut debt levels.

In his first interview since taking office a week ago, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria told the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday that the coalition was committed to remaining within the single currency and wanted to boost growth through investment and structural reforms.

Bond yields tumbled by 25-50 basis points across the board in Italy while the euro firmed, nearing a recent three-week high. The single currency was up 0.4 percent at US$1.1809 in early trading.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was 0.1 percent lower at 93.470 .

Oil prices slipped on rising Russian production and increasing U.S. drilling activity.

Brent crude futures fell 0.33 percent to US$76.21 a barrel and U.S. crude futures slipped 0.3 percent to US$65.54 a barrel.

(Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro in TOKYO; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)