President Donald Trump To Leave Historic Summit 15 Hours Early
President Donald Trump is planning to leave Singapore some 15 hours ahead of schedule after a full day of meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, the Associated Press reported Monday.
According to the AP report, administration officials say preliminary talks between representatives from the United States and North Korea are “fast moving,” allowing President Trump to leave Singapore around 8 p.m. local time as opposed to heading home Wednesday morning.
President Trump is in Singapore to meet one on one with the rogue nation’s leader in what could be a historic summit that could finally end the almost 70-year-old Korean War.
While a cease-fire was enacted in 1953, both North and South Korea remain technically in a state of war and exist under a state of constant military tension, especially in the de-militarized zone between the nations.
Tuesday’s meeting at 9 a.m. local time (9 p.m. Monday, eastern time in the United States) will be the first direct meeting between the leaders of both countries.
According to the AP, administration officials are hoping the talks lead to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Kim has flaunted his nation’s nuclear and missile capabilities in the last several years, at times threatening the United States mainland with nuclear attack.
After a series of incendiary messages and social media posts on Twitter between Kim and President Trump, the North Korean leader asked for the meeting.
In recent months, Kim has visited South Korea twice and went as far as releasing three detained Americans as a sign of goodwill leading up to Tuesday’s talks.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that the summit, while not likely to end with a complete deal, could open the doorway to further talks, and that the United States is willing to make certain security guarantees to Kim that other administrations were not willing to make.
“I can only say this,” Pompeo said in the AP report. “We are prepared to take what will be security assurances that are different, unique, than America’s been willing to provide previously.”
Prior to the first scheduled meeting, Kim spent time getting a nighttime tour of Singapore while President Trump stayed at his hotel, about a mile and a half away from the lodgings for the North Korean delegation, according to the AP.
President Trump traveled to the Singapore meeting after attending the G-7 economic summit in Canada where he called out allied nations for what he feels are “unfair” trade practices, according to a BBC report.
