Trump, Kim will meet at Sentosa's Capella Hotel An undated handout photo of Capella hotel on Sentosa island, Singapore / ReutersBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― The historic summit next week between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place at the Capella Hotel on Singapore's resort island of Sentosa, the White House said Tuesday (U.S.time).The meeting is due to begin at 10:00 a.m. (KST) June 12“The venue for the Singapore summit between @POTUS and leader Kim Jong-un will be the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island. We thank our great Singaporean hosts for their hospitality,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a Twitter post.The confirmation came hours after the Singapore government designated Sentosa and the links to the island from Harbourfront as a special event area from June 10 to 14.Following the announcement of the venue, the Singapore government declared the Trump-Kim summit an “Enhanced Security Special Event,” under which it will enforce strict security measures at the venues and surrounding areas through spot checks and inspections. Experts saiJun 6, 2018
Four mysteries about US-North Korea summit North Korean leader Kim Jong-un disembarks from his aircraft, a modified IL-62M from the Soviet era, during his recent trip to Dalian for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Kim is expected to use the same aircraft on his trip to Singapore for the June 12 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. / YonhapBy Oh Young-jin The time is set, the place decided and the agenda fine-tuned.All appears ready to go for the June 12 North Korea-U.S. summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island, Singapore, in a potential first round of what's supposed to be a bilateral effort to denuclearize the North and ease its way out of isolation.But each of the North, the U.S. and South Korea, the three key stakeholders in this grand game, ends up seeking something that is not in its element, resembles wishful thinking and so is lacking in its sincerity. TrumpThe U.S. is not a saint and has made many deals with devil in its foreign policy detail. But it has more or less represented the better side of global affairs.Under businessman President Donald Trump, it is trying to cut a deal with the worst combinJun 6, 2018
US won't pay for North Koreans' stay in Singapore The United States is not paying for North Korean officials to stay in Singapore for next week's summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the State Department said Tuesday.Paying for accommodation is certain to be a strain for the impoverished nation, with Kim reportedly planning to stay at a luxurious hotel such as the Fullerton or the St. Regis."The United States government is not paying for the North Korean delegation to stay," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a regular press briefing. "We're not paying for their expenses."The White House earlier announced that the first meeting will begin at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island at 9 a.m. next Tuesday.At the heart of the summit is whether, and in what detail, Trump and Kim will agree to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for security guarantees for the regime.Trump has said he and Kim could also declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty."I don't want to speculate on the timing or what may or may not haJun 6, 2018
PHOTOS Trump-Kim summit sparks media frenzy in Singapore An undated handout photo of Capella hotel on Sentosa island, Singapore / Capella Singapore via Reuters / Reuters / AP / APBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE ― The historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to stir up a media frenzy here.The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa on June 12.In the lead-up to the summit, a significant number of journalists from all over the world, including South Korea, are coming to the city-state.“It has been hectic nowadays because of a flurry of media inquiries about the Trump-Kim summit,” said an official from the South Korean embassy in Singapore.“We've got so many calls and request from media everyday and I think that things are likely to further heat up as the summit nears,” he added.Major hotels, considered likely venues for the summit and accommodations, are also receiving a growing number of media inquiries and requests.“I am getting a lot of requests from Japan and Korea,” said an execJun 6, 2018
'US delegation will be staying at Shangri-La Hotel'_ Shangri-La, Sentosa designated as 'special event areas'By Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE _ The U.S. delegation for the June 12 summit with North Korea will be unpacking their bags at the Shangri-La Hotel, a hotel official said Monday.Located in one of the more luxurious residential areas of the city state, the hotel had been considered one of the most likely places for the historic meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.“Most rooms have been booked by the U.S. embassy for the period of June 8 to 14, and the hotel has blocked reservations during that period,” the official told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.But she said it was still unclear whether Trump will also stay at the hotel.“We haven't got a detailed itinerary and names yet but I can say that the U.S. delegation will be staying here,” she added. “We haven't heard from management that our hotel has been chosen as the venue but we are preparing anyway.”The remark by the Shangri-La official was supported by a Singapore-based travel operator.“Under our room availability screening, rooJun 5, 2018
NK, US leaders may have multiple summitsBy Kim Bo-eunThe leaders of North Korea and the U.S. may have multiple meetings to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearization, after the White House called the planned June 12 summit the “first meeting,” indicating the nuclear disarmament talks may take some time to be concluded. The expectation is that the leaders may agree on a big framework at the first meeting and discuss details in following talksIn the announcement that the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump will begin at 9 a.m., June 12, in Singapore (local time), the White House implied that this would be the starting point of a process.White House press secretary Sarah Sanders referred to the June 12 summit as the “first meeting.” This is in line with Trump's remarks after he met with top North Korean official Kim Yong-chol last week.After the meeting in Washington, D.C., at which Kim delivered a letter from the North Korean leader, the U.S. president said the leaders “won't sign something” June 12, and that they were “going to start a process.” Trump referred to the summit as a “gettinJun 5, 2018
Leaders from two Koreas may meet in Russia in September By Lee Min-hyungWith Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to his country, expectations are that leaders from the two Koreas may meet in Russia this fall for the first time in a third country.The Kremlin said Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov delivered Putin's letter of invitation to Kim for an upcoming economic forum set to take place in Vladivostok in September. This came during the minister's visit to Pyongyang last month when he met with the regime's leader to discuss the ongoing denuclearization drive on the Korean Peninsula and Russia's role to realize the goal.“Details and time will be further coordinated through diplomatic channels (for Kim's possible visit to Russia),” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He said the forum is one of the options that will allow Kim's possible trip to the country.Nothing has been confirmed yet about whether Kim will join the Eastern Economic Forum, and as usual, North Korea did not report anything about the invitation and Kim's upcoming schedule.It is also undecided whether South KorJun 5, 2018
S. Korea seeks diplomatic immunity for officials at Gaeseong complex By Park Ji-wonThe South Korean government has asked North Korea to give diplomatic immunity to South Korean officials who will be stationed at a liaison office to be set up inside the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC) in North Korea according to an agreement made at the inter-Korean summit earlier. According to sources, the South Korean government recently suggested the North grant them immunity from arrest, detention, jurisdiction and testimony of civil and criminal courts for its officials to be stationed in the joint office, in a proposal letter during the high-ranking talks held between the two Koreas on June 1.It also proposed North Korea guarantee safe passage and communication for the officials and exempt them from checks on their baggage and pouches.If the proposal is finalized as the South Korean government wants, those officials can be treated like diplomats.Under the 1961 Vienna Convention, diplomatic envoys “shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention” and the bags they carry may not be opened or detained.The move is to improve the past Gaeseong busJun 5, 2018
Who will pick up the bill for Kim Jong-un's Singapore trip? North Korean leader Kim Jong-unWhen North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump hold their summit at an exclusive venue in Singapore, one of the priciest destinations in Asia, they will no doubt run up quite a bill. And if past precedent is any indication, expect Pyongyang to pay as little of it as possible. Speculation over how North Korea will handle the costs for Kim's June 12 meeting with Trump has taken off after a Washington Post report cited two anonymous U.S. officials suggesting the Trump administration has been ``seeking a discreet way'' to help pay Kim's hotel bill.The report suggested host nation Singapore might take care of it.But what exactly needs to be paid for isn't yet clear.Sure there are the costs of summit venue and the hotels, with one reported option, the Fullerton, coming with a $6,000-a-night price tag for its presidential suite. But that would hardly break the North Korean bank.While Kim could decide to stay the night, or maybe even two, he might also be in a hurry to get back home, in which case the North wouldn't need a room so much as Jun 5, 2018
What do North Korea's neighbors want from Trump-Kim summit? When U.S. President Donald Trump announced in March that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the news set off a flurry of diplomacy -- not only between Washington and Pyongyang, but also throughout Asia.China, South Korea, Japan and Russia -- neighbors with a vested interest in the outcome of any Trump-Kim talks -- have been jockeying for influence, meeting with senior North Korean leaders and among themselves to promote their own hopes for what happens in Singapore.SOUTH KOREASouth Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Kim at a historic summit in April in Panmunjom, located in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that has divided North and South Korea since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement.Moon has long advocated dialogue as the best option for resolving the tense stand-off over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. During their summit, Seoul and Pyongyang declared their commitment to "a new era of national reconciliation, peace and prosperity" and "the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."Jun 5, 2018
