Paris Baguette supports Trump-Kim summit A Paris Baguette employee gives free snack boxes to reporters at the media center located at F1 Pit Building in Singapore, Monday. / Courtesy of SPC GroupBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― When you visit the international media center for the historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, you may come across an unexpected name: Paris Baguette.The flagship bakery franchise brand of SPC Group, South Korea's leading confectionery company, is running a booth at level 3 of the media center located at F1 Pit Building from June 10 to 13.They are providing free snack boxes consisting of sandwiches, baked cookies and drinks for journalists from all over the world.Paris Baguette is the only non-Singaporean foreign brand among those set up at the media center. Singapore's four local brands are also offering free food and drinks there.“With hopes of contributing to the success of the landmark event, Paris Baguette, as a global brand with 3,800 operations in Korea and overseas, is offering free snack boxes,” said Kim Beom-seong, senior managing direJun 11, 2018
Key things to watch from Kim-Trump summit 'Joint declaration' needed to ensure success for denuclearizationBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― The day is finally upon us.Following a series of tit-for-tat moves over the past month, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet today on this island city-state.Experts said although Washington and Pyongyang had numerous senior- and working-level talks until the last minute, the outcome of the summit remains uncertain, considering the intricacies of issues and unpredictability of the two leaders.Regardless of what agreement the two leaders reach, the bottom line for a successful summit is for the two sides to come up with a “joint declaration.”“We should be looking for whether there is a joint declaration that puts expectations on paper,” Stephan Haggard, the director of the Korea-Pacific Program at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, told The Korea Times.“If they both just hold a press conference, it will be hard to interpret what actually happened.”Since denuclearization is a process, not an outcome, thJun 11, 2018
World to watch 'talks of the century'Trump, Kim to meet Tuesday for peace on Korean PeninsulaBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― After a series of dramatic twists and turns, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will finally sit down together Tuesday to discuss the denuclearization of the reclusive regime.The summit, the first between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader, will begin at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa at 10:00 a.m. (KST)Many hope the historic summit will pave the way for a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and bring permanent peace to the Korean Peninsula.Depending on the agreements the two leaders will reach, it will be the “talks of the century” that will define the fate of the Korean Peninsula and reshape the regional landscape.President Trump, who spent his first night at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sunday, expressed optimism for the landmark summit Monday.At a working lunch with Singapore Prime Minister?Lee Hsien Loong at Istana, the Singapore president's official residence, Trump said, "We have a very interesting meeting in particulaJun 11, 2018
Singapore paying $15 mil. Trump-Kim summit bill North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, shares a light moment with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at The Istana on June 10. AFP-YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanSingapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday the host country for the Pyongyang-Washington summit on Tuesday will bear the costs of the historic meeting.The statement came when Lee visited F1 Pit Building, the main press center for journalists covering the event. The venue is close to Sentosa Island, where the summit is being held. Costs for the summit are estimated at $S20 million ($US15 million). Almost half of the cost is for security.Lee said the summit benefited Singapore and his government would pay as a way to contribute to the international efforts.The Singapore government took into account political and diplomatic elements as well as locations when deciding venues and accommodation for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump.Earlier on Monday, after meeting Kim on Sunday at The Istana ― the official residence of the Singapore President on Sunday ― Lee said on Facebook he and KJun 11, 2018
PHOTOS 'The dark shadows' are back North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's bodyguards surround a vehicle presumably carrying Kim near the St. Regis Hotel in Singapore. YonhapNorth Korean bodyguards watch over the surroundings of the St. Regis Hotel where North Kim Jong-un is staying in Singapore. YonhapNear the St. Regis Hotel on June 12, North Korean bodyguards talk with a Singaporean police officer ahead of Kim Jong-un's arrival at the hotel. YonhapKim's bodyguards will keep a close watch during his travels in the city-state. YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanA group of well-built bodyguards with short crew cuts accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.The men, whom South Korean media called “Dark shadows” during the inter-Korean summit in April, moved in a tight formation to keep their boss shielded on his first day in Singapore, Sunday. There appeared little room for 12 bodyguards to surround Kim's limousine as he headed to the Istana, the official residence of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, shortly after he arrived in the city-state on June 10. Their V-shaped formation shielded Kim's vehicleJun 11, 2018
10 historic moments in US-North Korea relations President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are to meet in Singapore on Tuesday for a summit that will be the first of its kind between leaders of the rival nations. Ten other historic moments in relations between the United States and North Korea:KOREAN WARThe two countries fought on opposite sides of a three-year war in the early 1950s that killed millions of people, including 36,000 American soldiers. The war began in June 1950 when North Korean troops poured across the border at the 38th parallel and launched a surprise assault. A weak South Korean military was initially almost driven off the peninsula before the American-led U.N. forces pushed the invaders deep into North Korea. The Chinese military later intervened, pushing the U.N. forces back. The fighting ended with an armistice in July 1953. That armistice has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war. The United States still stations about 28,500 soldiers in South Korea.SPY SHIP CAPTUREDIn January 1968, North Korean navy boats attacked and captured the USS PuebJun 11, 2018
Trump, Kim to grapple with 'devil in details' 'Joint declaration' needed to ensure success for denuclearizationBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― Following a series of tit-for-tat moves over the past month, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un put their final touch for June 12 summit.Experts said that although Washington and Pyongyang had numerous senior- and working-level talks until the last minute, the outcome of the summit remained uncertain, considering the intricacies of issues and the unpredictability of the two leaders.Regardless of what agreement the two leaders reach, the bottom line for a successful summit is for the two sides to make a “joint declaration.”“We should be looking for whether there is a joint declaration that puts expectations on paper,” Stephan Haggard, director of the Korea-Pacific Program at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, told The Korea Times.“If they both just hold a press conference, it will be hard to interpret what actually happened,” he added.It is important to note that the devil is in the detail.Because denuclearizJun 11, 2018By Kim Jae-kyoung
US, North Korea race against time to narrow differences on summit eve Senior North Korean Diplomat Choe Son Hui leaves the Ritz-Carlton hotel following a meeting in Singapore June 11, 2018. / ReutersU.S. and North Korean officials were in talks in Singapore on Monday in a late bid to narrow differences before their leaders hold an unprecedented summit meeting aimed at finding ways to end a nuclear stand-off on the Korean peninsula. North Korea's Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in the tropical city-state on Sunday for the historic meeting, which will be the first time leaders of the two countries have come face-to-face.Key gaps remain over what denuclearisation would entail for two countries that have been enemies since the 1950-1953 Korean War, and the officials were trying to push the agenda forward before the leaders meet on Tuesday. Commenting for the first time on the agenda, North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency said the two sides would exchange "wide-ranging and profound views" to re-set relations. It heralded the summit as part of a "changed era". Discussions would focus on "the issue of building a permanent and durable peJun 11, 2018
PHOTOS Security tightened for Kim-Trump summit Armed police patrol outside the St. Regis hotel, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is staying. AFP-YonhapBy Kang Aa-youngSecurity is being tightened in Singapore ahead of the June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday.Singaporean authorities set up road blocks around the sites where the summit will be held and designated the area as a “special event area” from Sunday to Thursday. The site, include the summit venue, the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island, and the places surrounding the Shangri-La Hotel and the St. Regis Hotel, where the two leaders are likely to stay. Police patrol outside the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Sunday. AP-YonhapA police officer guards the entrance of the international media center. AP-YonhapA security tent at the entrance to the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. AP-YonhapA police officer stands guard outside the St. Regis Hotel in Singapore. AP-YonhapA police officer stops a car at a road block outside the St. Regis Hotel in Singapore. AP-YonhapA technician installs a surveillance camera aJun 11, 2018
History of North Korea's nuclear standoff U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are steeling themselves for a historic showdown over the communist regime's denuclearization, a goal that has been elusive for more than two decades.Past negotiations, including the six-party aid-for-disarmament talks, have failed to remove the North's nuclear threats due to deep-seated distrust, a security dilemma, domestic political obstacles and geopolitical dynamics.The Trump-Kim summit on Tuesday is expected to be a touchstone for whether the leaders can overcome such past hurdles and clinch a deal that many hope will help establish a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.N. Korea's nuclear ambitionsNorth Korea's ambitions for nuclear armament began in the late 1950s, when the U.S. military deployed nuclear arms to the South, which Pyongyang thought undermined the security balance on the peninsula.The North started to nurture nuclear scientists by sending them to a research institute in Dubna, Moscow Oblast, in 1956. Its research cooperation with the Soviet Union further increased under a 1959 accord for the "peacefJun 11, 2018
