Trump and Kim Prepare for Historic Meeting
North Korea’s state news agency announced a “new era” ahead of the historic meeting between Trump and Kim, saying the subject of these negotiations will be denuclearization and ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula. The meeting will take place amid strict security measures in Singapore.
The White House announced that representatives from both sides will hold a meeting on Monday to prepare the groundwork for Trump and Kim’s meeting on the morning of Tuesday (June 12 / June 22). Song Kim, the current U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, will lead this meeting.
Singapore’s authorities have established strict security measures for this historic meeting, and central areas of the city and a number of streets leading to the meeting location will be completely closed off. It is estimated that more than 23,000 police officers will be deployed to ensure security.
Donald Trump, President of the United States, and Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea, both arrived in Singapore on Sunday evening (June 10 / local time) several hours apart.
Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, described the preliminary talks as “substantive and detailed” and wrote on Twitter that the United States continues to emphasize North Korea’s complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization.
North Korea’s official news agency spoke of a “new era” ahead of this historic meeting and reported that both sides plan to discuss the exchange of views on nuclear disarmament and how to achieve a “permanent and sustainable mechanism to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
Kim Jong Un had previously declared his readiness to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, but had not clearly explained what exactly he meant by nuclear disarmament. Some political analysts view this matter with skepticism and believe that North Korea’s leader will not be willing to abandon nuclear facilities.
Jürgen Hart, an expert on foreign policy issues from the Christian Democratic Union (Angela Merkel’s party), said in an interview with one of Germany’s printed newspapers that he “based on previous experience” doubts whether North Korea’s dictator will accept Western demands regarding Pyongyang’s nuclear programs as a condition for normalizing relations.
Richard Armitage, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State during the first term of President George W. Bush, also said he does not expect much progress in North Korea’s nuclear disarmament during negotiations between the leaders of the two countries.
Informing North Korean Citizens
North Korea’s leadership, in an unprecedented move, informed the country’s people through public media about the meeting between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. North Korean state media reported on Monday, one day after Kim’s arrival in Singapore, about the significance of this meeting. These media outlets used the phrase “new relations” between the United States and North Korea in their reports.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Singapore’s Prime Minister on Monday as well. According to the White House, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, and Trump’s political advisor Stephen Miller will accompany Trump in his meeting with Lee Hsien Loong.
Kim Jong Un also met with Singapore’s Prime Minister shortly after his arrival in Singapore. On Monday, Trump posted a message on Twitter saying: “Being in Singapore is extraordinary. There is excitement in the air.”
Source: DW
