Singapore - U.S. President Donald Trump
and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a "comprehensive"
document following a historic summit aimed at the
denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
There were mo immediate details on the contents of the
document.
Although the breakthrough made at the summit marks just the
start of a diplomatic process, it could bring lasting change to
the security landscape of Northeast Asia, just as former U.S.
President Richard Nixon visit to Beijing in 1972 led to the
transformation of China.
Before signing what Trump described as a "comprehensive
letter", Kim said the two leaders had a historic meeting “and
decided to leave the past behind. The world will see a major
change.”
Trump said the process of denuclearisation would happen
"very, very quickly", adding that he had formed a "special bond"
with Kim and the relationship with North Korea would be very
different.
“This is going to lead to more and more and more,” Trump
said.
Asked whether he would invite Kim to the White House, Trump
said: "Absolutely, I will."
He called Kim "very smart" and a "very worthy, very hard negotiator."
"I learned he's a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much."
During a post-lunch stroll through the gardens of the
Singapore hotel where the summit was held, Trump said the summit
had gone "better than anybody could have expected".
Kim stood silently alongside, but the North Korean leader
had earlier described their meeting as a "a good prelude to
peace".
Both men walked to Trump's bullet-proof limousine, nicknamed
"The Beast", and looked in at the rear seat, with Trump
apparently showing Kim something inside. They then resumed their
walk.
Both men had appeared cautious and serious when they first
arrived for the summit at the Capella hotel on Singapore's
Sentosa, a resort island with luxury hotels, a casino, manmade
beaches and a Universal Studios theme park.
But, with cameras of the world's press trained on them, they
displayed an initial atmosphere of bonhomie as they met on the
verandah of the Capella, a refurbished 19th century British
regimental officers' mess.
After a handshake, they were soon smiling and holding each
other by the arm, before Trump guided Kim to the library where
they held a meeting with only their interpreters. Trump had said
on Saturday he would know within a minute of meeting Kim whether
he would reach a deal.
Inside, they sat alongside each other against a backdrop of
North Korean and U.S. flags, with Kim beaming broadly as the
U.S. president gave him a thumbs up.
The combatants of the 1950-53 Korean War are technically
still at war, as the conflict, in which millions of people died,
was concluded only with a truce.
After initial exchanges lasting around 40 minutes, Trump and
Kim emerged, walking side-by-side through the colonnaded hotel
before entering a meeting room, where they were joined by their
most senior officials.
Kim was heard telling Trump through a translator: "I think
the entire world is watching this moment. Many people in the
world will think of this as a scene from a fantasy...science
fiction movie."
Asked by a reporter how the meeting was going, Trump said:
"Very good. Very, very good. Good relationship."
Kim also sounded positive about the prospects of peace.
"We overcame all kinds of scepticism and speculations about
this summit and I believe that this is good for the peace," he
said. "I believe this is a good prelude for peace."
The dollar jumped to a 3-week top on Tuesday and Asian
shares rose on the news.
Trump was joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National
Security Adviser John Bolton, and John Kelly, White House Chief
of Staff, for the expanded talks, while Kim's team included
former military intelligence chief Kim Yong Chol, foreign
minister Ri Yong Ho and Ri Su Yong, vice chairman of the ruling
Workers' Party.
As the two leaders met, Singapore navy vessels, and air
force Apache helicopters patrolled, while fighter jets and an
Gulfstream 550 early warning aircraft circled.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un leave after signing documents after their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore. Picture: Jonathan Erns/AP
Body language expert said both men tried to project command
as they met, but also displayed signs of nerves.
After the meetings, the two teams and other senior officials
met for a working lunch, where beef short ribs, sweet and sour
pork and "Daegu Jormin", or Korean braised cod, were served for
the main course, according to the menu. That was to be followed
by dark chocolate tarts, pastries and vanilla ice cream for
dessert. The North Korean leader's sister and close confidante
Kim Yo Jong was among the lunch party.
As the cameras captured the moment, Trump quipped: "Very
nice. Getting a good picture everyone, so we all look nice and
handsome and thin...perfect".
In the hours before the summit began, Trump expressed
optimism about prospects for the first-ever meeting of sitting
U.S. and North Korean leaders, while Pompeo injected a note of
caution whether Kim would prove to be sincere about his
willingness to denuclearise.
Pompeo said the summit should set the framework for "the
hard work that will follow", insisting that North Korea had to
move toward complete, verifiable and irreversible
denuclearisation.
North Korea, however, has shown little appetite for
surrendering nuclear weapons it considers vital to the survival
of Kim's dynastic rule.
Sanctions on North Korea would remain in place until that
happened, Pompeo said on Monday. "If diplomacy does not move in
the right direction ... those measures will increase."
The White House said later that discussions with North Korea
had moved "more quickly than expected" and Trump would leave
Singapore on Tuesday night after the summit, rather than
Wednesday, as scheduled earlier.
Kim is due to leave on Tuesday afternoon, a source involved
in the planning of his visit has said.
One of the world's most reclusive leaders, Kim visited
Singapore's waterfront on Monday, smiling and waving to
onlookers, adding to a more affable image that has emerged since
his April summit with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in.
Trump spoke to Moon and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
both key allies of Washington in the region, to discuss
developments ahead of the summit.
"I too, got little sleep last night," Moon told his cabinet
in Seoul as the summit began in Singapore.
"I truly hope it will be a successful summit that will open
a new age for the two Koreas and the United States and bring us
complete denuclearisation and peace."