SINGAPORE — Fresh from a contentious global economic summit meeting with United States’ oldest and closest allies, President Trump arrived in Singapore on Sunday for his historic on-again-off-again meeting with the North Korea leader, Kim Jong-un.
With the nuclear future of North Korea and the security of the entire region at stake, the encounter will be the first ever between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader.
Just over two weeks ago, it seemed that the summit meeting was not going to happen. A few months ago, the two countries even seemed close to the brink of war.
But on Sunday, Mr. Trump arrived just after 8:20 p.m. local time at Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore aboard Air Force One, a few hours after Mr. Kim landed at Changi Airport on a commercial Air China plane.
Mr. Trump, who has declared that he did not need to prepare for the two-day meeting, will pit his negotiating skills against the leader of one of the world’s most isolated countries. Some analysts fear it will be a meeting of mismatched expectations, with Mr. Trump expecting denuclearization from North Korea in return for helping the impoverished nation improve its economy.
Mr. Trump has questioned the need for a strong American military presence in Northeast Asia. Most analysts do not believe that Mr. Kim is prepared to give up his weapons.
With the nuclear future of North Korea and the security of the entire region at stake, the encounter will be the first ever between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader.
Just over two weeks ago, it seemed that the summit meeting was not going to happen. A few months ago, the two countries even seemed close to the brink of war.
But on Sunday, Mr. Trump arrived just after 8:20 p.m. local time at Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore aboard Air Force One, a few hours after Mr. Kim landed at Changi Airport on a commercial Air China plane.
Mr. Trump, who has declared that he did not need to prepare for the two-day meeting, will pit his negotiating skills against the leader of one of the world’s most isolated countries. Some analysts fear it will be a meeting of mismatched expectations, with Mr. Trump expecting denuclearization from North Korea in return for helping the impoverished nation improve its economy.
Mr. Trump has questioned the need for a strong American military presence in Northeast Asia. Most analysts do not believe that Mr. Kim is prepared to give up his weapons.
No comments:
Post a Comment