Kim, Trump have all top aides in Singapore
A handout photo made available by the Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as he arrives at Changi Airport in Singapore, Sunday. / Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump visited Singapore along with their top aides.
Kim was accompanied by a large delegation, including Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and his sister Kim Yo-jong, while Trump brought Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton to Singapore.
According to reports and photos released by the Singaporean government, Kim shows his presence at the Singapore airport descending from a plane loaned from China along with his loyal aides: Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, former spy chief Kim Yong-chol and International Affairs Vice Chairman Ri Su-yong. Kim Ju-song, the North Korean translator who participated in Kim Yong-chol's Washington meeting with Trump, was also seen in other pictures.
The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday that Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong-chol, Ri Su-yong, newly appointed Defence Minister No Kwang-chol, Ri Yong-ho, and Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong and vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui. It was the first time for the North to reveal the details on the Singaporean summit.
Kim's team flew to Singapore on three jets: the first carried supplies and cars; the second, an Air China Boeing 747 was used for high-level officials, including Kim Jong-un; and a third, Kim's personal jet, carried his sister Kim Yo-jong.
Choe Kang-il, an official of North Korea's foreign ministry and Kim Song-hye, who are known to be in the strategic team of the unification division, were also in the North's entourage. Hyon Song-wol, the leader of the all-female Moranbong Band, was also seen in Singapore.
Considering the members are top diplomats who have been talking with the U.S. envoys, critics expect the denuclearization discussion will continue until the last moment of the summit.
Who will be seated at the summit table hasn't been revealed yet.
Meanwhile, North Korean counterparts led by Trump are also set to prepare for their summit in Singapore with its top diplomats.
Trump arrived in Singapore late Sunday local time with Pompeo, Bolton and Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Ambassador Sung Kim, the U.S. envoy to the Philippines, arrived in Singapore to have final meetings with the North's diplomats. Sung Kim has been in discussion until recently with the North's top diplomats such as Choe Son-hui at the North Korean side of the inter-Korean demilitarized zone.
Seen is a screenshot of a tweet by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that includes the top diplomats from North Korea and the U.S. In the top picture, Ambassador Sung Kim, the U.S. envoy to the Philippines, speaks as North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui smiles in the bottom picture at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Singapore, Monday. / Yonhap
Pompeo revealed Monday that U.S. and North Korean officials held “substantive” and “detailed” meetings to hammer out the details of a nuclear agreement ahead of the Kim-Trump summit today.
Meanwhile, the North's state media said Monday the two leaders would discuss a “permanent and sustainable peace-keeping mechanism” for the Korean Peninsula, denuclearization of the peninsula and other issues of mutual concern.