FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Singapore confirms it will host landmark Trump-Kim summit

Singapore confirms it will host landmark Trump-Kim summit

Singapore - Singapore's foreign ministry on Thursday confirmed it would host a historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month. 

    The Southeast Asian city-state, which is seen as secure and neutral territory for the unprecedented summit, said the meeting would take place on June 12, echoing Trump's announcement of the plan in a tweet earlier Thursday.

    "We hope this meeting will advance prospects for peace in the Korean Peninsula," Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

    It did not reveal further details of the preparations for the meeting.

    Trump's summit with Kim will crown months of whirlwind diplomacy aimed at curbing the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programme.

    It marks a stunning turnaround from last year, when the pair traded caustic barbs as Kim pushed on with missile launches and the North's biggest nuclear test to date. 

    But the North Korean changed tack this year, embarking on his first official trips abroad as leader with two meetings in China with Xi Jinping. He also held a landmark meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in April.

    Various venues had been touted for the Trump meeting, including Mongolia and the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas.

    Singapore, an affluent Southeast Asian financial hub, was likely chosen due to its neutrality, security advantages and track record of hosting international summits, observers say.//AFP

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