Kim Jong Un to discuss denuclearization in Singapore

The country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday that Kim and Trump will discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and “building a permanent and durable peace-keeping mechanism.”

North Korea has previously said it was willing to discuss denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, but experts worry about the different definitions of the term held by Washington and Pyongyang.

Consecutive US administrations have sought the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear program, known among policy experts as CVID.

Pyongyang’s definition of denuclearization is much more opaque, but it’s believed to be much broader in scope and possibly include things like US nuclear-capability assets in the region, Washington’s large troop presence on South Korea or its inclusion of Seoul in its “nuclear umbrella.”

“We’re not going to talk about the details of the negotiating,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during an interview with Japan’s NHK news.

“We’ll let the two leaders get together, and they’ll begin to flesh out what both the security assurances will look like, what we can do together politically to provide better relations between our two countries, and then talk about denuclearization.”

Pompeo and his team appear to be racing toward the finish line in terms of preparations for Tuesday’s summit.

US Ambassador Sung Kim, who was recently tapped to handle North Korean affairs, met his North Korean counterparts in Singapore Monday, after days of talks in South Korea about the contents of any deal.

Front page news

Kim’s departure for Singapore made front page news in North Korea, where the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried images of a ceremony for Kim as he boarded the Air China plane Sunday local time.

On state-run KCTV, famed North Korean news anchor Ri Chun Hee informed the nation that Kim had arrived, declaring that Kim was “very happy” to be visiting Singapore, and that he thanked the “outstanding and beautiful nation” for its hospitality.

In Singapore, residents lined the streets as Kim’s motorcade passed soon after his arrival. Journalists in the city to cover the talks took positions outside the St. Regis Hotel, where Kim is believed to be staying, trying to catch a glimpse of the leader.

Soon after his arrival, Kim met Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has spent $15 million (20 million Singapore dollars) to host the summit.

The two were photographed smiling, shaking hands and sitting down together, with Kim appearing at ease playing the role of global statesman on his furthest journey away from Pyongyang since taking power in 2011.

Lee met Trump Monday, with the US president also thanking his host for his “hospitality and professionalism and friendship.”