In a history setting development, American President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un on Tuesday became the first sitting US and North Korean leaders to shake hands and hold talks in a bid to resolve the decades-old nuclear stand-off.
The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting, with translators only, followed by an expanded meeting including their top aides and a working lunch at Capella Singapore hotel in Sentosa Island after months of diplomatic twists and turns, reported PTI.
“We’re signing a very comprehensive document, and we’ve had a really great time together, a great relationship,” Trump said while signing the document along with Kim in the presence of media at the end of the summit – the first between a sitting US president and North Korea’s top leader.
It was unclear what the document was about but Trump said the public will find out soon.
In response to a question about denuclearisation, Trump said, “We’re starting that process… very quickly.”
“We have decided to leave the past behind,” Kim said through a translator, at the signing table. “The world will see a major change,” he added.
Trump said he was very proud of what took place today and the two leaders would “take care of a very dangerous problem for the world.”
The 71-year-old Trump said the summit worked out far better than expected and he’s developed a “very special bond” with 34-year-old Kim.
“We’ll meet again, we’ll meet many times,” said Trump when asked whether the two leaders will meet again.
He said Kim is “a very talented man” who “loves his country very much”.
Trump said he “absolutely” will invite Kim to the White House.
As they exited the room, Trump and Kim patted each other on the back.
On the eve of the summit at Sentosa, the US had offered “unique” security guarantees to North Korea in return for a “complete, verifiable and irreversible” denuclearisation.
The landmark summit is being described as the mother of all summits. The United States wants North Korea to denuclearize in return for security guarantees.
Sentosa is a popular tourist island a few hundred metres off the main island of Singapore.
The US insists it will accept nothing less than complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.