After months of speculations, a war of words and all the waiting, US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are finally set to meet each other and hold discussions in Singapore on Tuesday, June 12.
Trump touched down in the island nation on Sunday, June 10, hours after Jong Un reached Singapore from Pyongyang. While Jong Un is staying at the iconic Fullerton Hotel, Trump is at the Shangri-La. But the duo will hold the meeting at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa.
This is the first time Trump and Jong Un are meeting, especially after trading jibes since last September and both the leaders seem quite enthusiastic about the meet. The North Korean leader met the prime minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong on June 10 and told him that the "the entire world is watching." Ahead of that, Trump had said that this was a "one-time shot" when it came to building a relationship with the reclusive country.
So, What Do Trump And Jong Un Expect From The Summit?
On June 12, Trump and Jong Un will make history and sit down for a meet, something that the world thought would not happen, at least in the near future. The two leaders will discuss North Korea's nuclear programme and the US will try to convince Pyongyang to give up its weapons.
However, Trump does acknowledge the fact that this is not going to happen overnight and that the meet is a "get-to-know-you situation" and "it's going to be a process," reported the BBC. But he hopes that the two leaders can at least sign an agreement to end the Korean war, which was called off after a truce in 1953.
Meanwhile, Jong Un is unlikely to immediately give up on its nuclear programme immediately. Analysts believe that the North Korean leader would not give up its weapons so easily, especially after working so hard to build them in the first place. The reclusive nation has been adamant on it and has not relented despite the numerous sanctions that the US and the UN have imposed on it.
Many others also believe that North Korea would not give up its nuclear programme until and unless the Korean peninsula also makes the move. Additionally, it would also want Washington to do the same.
The Year 2018 For Trump And Jong Un
The new year began on a bitter note for the US and North Korea. Addressing the country on New Year's Day that was broadcast on state television, the Jong Un said that the United States will never be able to go to war with the nation as North Korea was capable of destroying the US with its nuclear weapons. He also said that a nuclear button was always on his desk.
"The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is a reality, not a threat," he had said during a televised New Year's Day speech, according to Reuters.
After Jong Un's address, Trump also lashed out at Pyongyang and said: "We'll see, we'll see."
But he later mocked the North Korean leader and said that the US' button was "much bigger and powerful" and added: "And my Button works!
However, after everything that went down Trump and Jong Un will meet on June 12, and the world cannot wait to see what comes out of this summit.
