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Trump Kim summit: North Korea sets out its Singapore agenda Trump Kim summit: North Korea sets out its Singapore agenda
(about 2 hours later)
Kim Jong-un will discuss a "permanent... peace-keeping mechanism" with US President Donald Trump when they meet on Tuesday, North Korea says. North Korean state media has raised the possibility Pyongyang could "establish a new relationship" with the US.
Both leaders have arrived in Singapore in preparation for their much anticipated, historic first encounter. It comes a day before North Korean leader Kim Jong-un holds historic talks with US President Donald Trump.
Mr Kim said "the entire world [was] watching" while Mr Trump said he had a good feeling about the summit. The comments are a marked shift in tone from the isolated country after decades of animosity towards the US.
An editorial in North Korea's official state newspaper has hinted at a possible "normalising" of US ties. Both leaders arrived in Singapore on Sunday evening. Mr Trump has said he has a "good feeling" about their much-anticipated summit.
The US wants North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons but it is not clear what Pyongyang might want in return. He tweeted on Monday morning that there was "excitement in the air" in Singapore.
The two leaders are staying in separate hotels, not far from each other. Mr Kim is staying at Singapore's five-star St Regis hotel, while Mr Trump is staying about half a mile away at the Shangri La. The US president, who flew in on board Air Force One, hopes the summit will kick-start a process that eventually sees Mr Kim give up nuclear weapons.
They are scheduled to meet on Tuesday on the resort island of Sentosa. They are staying in separate hotels, not far from each other, and will meet on Tuesday at a hotel on Sentosa, a popular tourist island a few hundred metres off the Singapore mainland.
The art of the unconventional deal? South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that senior diplomats from both countries were meeting on Monday to try to draft an agreement to present to their leaders.
By Jon Sopel, BBC North America editor North Korea's state media does not usually report on the leader's activities in real time, and the summit has only had a passing mention so far.
Dare I say it, conventional politics would not have got us to the point where we are now. We are where we are because Mr Trump has taken a sword and sliced his way through conventional diplomatic behaviour. But the editorial in Rodong Sinmun confirmed that Mr Kim had travelled to Singapore to meet Mr Trump and that "we will establish a new relationship to meet the changing demands of the new era".
The US president has said he hasn't prepped much for these talks. There was no need to. And yet denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, how to define it, what verification might look like, over what timescale it should unfold, in return for what level of US economic aid and security guarantees and the lifting of what sanctions - and, and, and - is pretty head-scratching, complex stuff. It said "broad and in-depth opinions" would be exchanged to "establish a permanent and peaceful regime in the Korean peninsula and to solve problems that are of common concern, including issues to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula".
You can imagine the drumming of fingers in anterooms as officials wait to be told if there will be peace in our time, or whether it's all fallen apart and we're heading for the airport.
While this meeting with Mr Kim may be just the start of what might be a long and fraught journey, it is at least that - a start. Would conventional politics have even taken us this far?
Mr Trump has said it normally takes him about five seconds to figure out whether he will get along with someone. The only sane reaction is to hope that they do both get along.
What did North Korea say?
In a statement released by the state news agency KCNA, it said the two leaders would discuss a "permanent and durable peace-keeping mechanism" for the Korean Peninsula, the "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula and other issues of mutual concern.
A "changed era" had come about, it said.
State newspaper Rodong Sinmun published an editorial suggesting that Pyongyang would work towards improving its relationship with the US.
"Even if a country had a hostile relationship with us in the past, our attitude is that if this nation respects our autonomy... we shall seek normalisation through dialogue," it reads."Even if a country had a hostile relationship with us in the past, our attitude is that if this nation respects our autonomy... we shall seek normalisation through dialogue," it reads.
How did they arrive? Denuclearisation has been the central issue in the run-up to the talks. The US wants North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, but North Korea is widely expected to resist that and it is unclear what it might ask for in return.
Selling the summit to North Korea
Analysis: Laura Bicker, BBC News, Singapore
For decades the US has been a sworn enemy. There are even anti-American museums in Pyongyang.
But the state is now trying to sell the idea of talking to what it once described as "the incarnation of all sorts of evil, the empire of devils". And that was some of its milder language.
So let's examine a couple of key phrases from Rodong Sinmun.
In the English version, the summit is sold as a chance to realise "the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and other issues of mutual concern, as required by the changed era".
It's the "changed era" that is important. North Korea has spent decades building up a nuclear arsenal at great personal cost. Kim Jong-un needs to tell his people why he's willing to negotiate.
His New Year speech - that kickstarted this diplomatic process - was all about North Korea's strategy of building the economy having achieved the goal of becoming a nuclear power. This has echoes of that.
These pages in the paper are significant because they pave the way for a possible change in the state's message and it helps those watching argue that this time with North Korea - things could be different.
Read more from Laura: How Kim the outcast became popular
The US president flew in on board Air Force One on Sunday, arriving from Canada where a G7 summit ended in a war of words over trade between Mr Trump and his allies.The US president flew in on board Air Force One on Sunday, arriving from Canada where a G7 summit ended in a war of words over trade between Mr Trump and his allies.
He was greeted by Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan as he stepped off his plane.He was greeted by Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan as he stepped off his plane.
The US president hopes the summit will kick-start a process that eventually sees Mr Kim give up nuclear weapons. Mr Kim arrived on a plane loaned from China along with his outspoken Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, Defence Minister No Kwang-chol and his sister and aide, Kim Yo-jong.
Mr Kim arrived on a plane loaned from China along with his outspoken Foreign Minister, Ri Yong-ho, Defence Minister No Kwang-chol and his sister Kim Yo-jong. Mr Kim was driven to the city centre on Sunday in a stretch limousine accompanied by a convoy of more than 20 vehicles.
Mr Kim was driven to the city centre on Sunday in a stretch Mercedes-Benz limousine accompanied by a convoy of more than 20 vehicles.
He met Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to thank him for hosting the summit, adding: "If the summit becomes a success, the Singaporean efforts will go down in history."He met Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to thank him for hosting the summit, adding: "If the summit becomes a success, the Singaporean efforts will go down in history."
Read more about the summit here: Singapore's government has said the summit is costing them about $20m Singapore dollars ($15m; £11m) to host. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan confirmed to the BBC that Singapore was paying the North Korean delegation's hotel bills.
How did we get here?
Mr Trump and Mr Kim have had an extraordinary up-and-down relationship over the past 18 months, trading insults and threatening war before abruptly changing tack and moving towards a face-to-face meeting.
Mr Trump's first year in office was marked by bitter exchanges with Mr Kim as North Korea conducted several ballistic missile tests in defiance of international warnings.
The US president vowed to unleash "fire and fury" if Pyongyang kept threatening the US. He also referred to Mr Kim as "little rocket man".
In return, Mr Kim called him "mentally deranged" and a "dotard".
Despite the White House's "maximum pressure" campaign, the North remained defiant and carried out its sixth nuclear test in September 2017. Soon after, Mr Kim declared that his country had achieved its mission of becoming a nuclear state, with missiles that could reach the US.
But in early 2018, North Korea began attempts to improve relations with South Korea by sending a team and delegates to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
In March, Mr Trump surprised the world by accepting an invitation from Mr Kim - delivered via Seoul - to meet in person.
Since then, the path to the summit has been rocky, with Mr Trump at one point calling it off completely. But after some diplomatic scrambling, the two leaders will now sit down together.