Trump-Kim summit: Singapore meeting begins as US and North Korean leaders shake hands – live
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Version 4 of 37. We are getting pictures from the expanded bilateral talk now. The leaders are shaking hands again across the table and exchanging greetings. Their remarks were hard to catch over the noise of cameras, but Trump spoke of the two leaders “solving the problem that has been unable to be solved before” adding: We will be successful, it will be done. In the room with Trump is Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, Republican consultant John Bolton and John Kelly, White House chief of staff. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have left their one-on-one talk. They emerged from the talks together. Kim was smiling and Trump was chatting to Kim as they waved to press from the balcony of the hotel. Dennis Rodman, the retired US basketballer, is on CNN now talking about the summit and getting very emotional as he talks about today’s events. Rodman, who is wearing a Make America Great Again cap, said Donald Trump had reached out to him. Donald Trump reached out, he called his secretary, she called me and said, ‘Donald Trump is so proud of you, he likes you a lot.’ And that means a lot. I don’t want to take any credit, we can all take credit and I’m just so glad this is happening. Rodman flew into Singapore late Monday. He has struck up an unlikely friendship with Kim Jong-un, who is a basketball fan, and told CNN he would like to bring sport to North Korea. He said he just wants “to shine a light on what’s going on in North Korea” but does not want to distract from the events of the day. This is Trump and Kim Jong-un’s day – it’s the world’s day, it’s not my day. The leaders address the media before walking into their one-on-one discussion. Donald Trump says he is confident the talks will be a “tremendous success” and that “we will have a tremendous relationship, I have no doubt”. Kim Jong-un says “it has not been easy to get here” and that “the old prejudices and practices worked as obstacles, but we have overcome them and we are here today”. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have met at the Capella hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore, the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. They shook hands on the steps of the hotel before cameras. By Trump’s standards it was a relatively low-key handshake, with no jerky movements, though it lasted for about 12 seconds. Trump and Kim will first have a one-on-one talk before they are joined by advisers for talks later this morning. Donald Trump has arrived at the Capella hotel where he is due to meet with Kim Jong-un. Kim is already inside and the two leaders are expected to pose for a photograph together before they begin talks. Kim Jong-un has arrived at the Capella hotel in Singapore for talks with Donald Trump. He walked out of his car and into the hotel accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo-jong. Donald Trump has tweeted again, this time about Larry Kudlow, who Trump says has had a heart attack and is now in hospital. Kudlow is one of Trump’s economic advisers and last week called Justin Trudeau’s behaviour at the G7 summit a “betrayal” of Trump. Our Great Larry Kudlow, who has been working so hard on trade and the economy, has just suffered a heart attack. He is now in Walter Reed Medical Center. A great shot from the spot where Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are expected to greet one another at the start of the summit. We expect their meeting and the handshake in the next 20 minutes. Both Kim and Trump have arrived on Sentosa. Kim Jong-un’s motorcade is crossing the bridge to Sentosa Island, the site of today’s historic talks. The first event on the agenda is a greeting between the leaders, before they have a one-on-one talk. |