Trump-Kim meeting: Democrats hit out at 'reality TV handshake' amid concerns over lack of specific promises from North Korea

Mr Trump says he trusts Mr Kim and that he believes the North Korean leader is sincere about his desire for denuclearisation

Trump-Kim meeting: how events unfolded at the Singapore summit

Donald Trump appears to have made a major concession to North Korea following his joint agreement with Kim Jong-un, ending joint military exercises with South Korea that he deemed “provocative” and “tremendously expensive”.

He said he also hoped to “bring home” the 32,000 US troops stationed in South Korea at some point in the future, but acknowledged such a move was not “part of the equation right now”.

In a press conference lasting more than an hour Mr Trump also said the North had begun dismantling a major missile engine testing site, and he praised Mr Kim as “very talented”.

Later, as Mr Trump's plane landed in Guam to refuel, Mr Trump told reporters that he trusted Mr Kim and that he believed the North Korean leader was sincere about his desire for denuclearisation.

“I can only tell you that from the time I’ve (dealt) with him, which is really starting 90 days ago," Mr Trump said. "I think he wants to get it done".

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At the end of the summitMr Trump and Mr Kim signed what Mr Trump claimed was a “comprehensive” document following the historic meeting aimed at the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. The president said he believed the process of denuclearisation would happen “very, very quickly”, adding that he had formed a “special bond” with Mr Kim.

Mr Kim who has been granted a measure of international legitimacy with the summit, said the two leaders had “decided to leave the past behind. The world will see a major change”.

In the first meeting of a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, the pair convened at a luxury resort on Singapore’s Sentosa Island, clasping hands as they stood on a red carpet in front of a backdrop of alternating US and North Korean flags. Mr Trump was first to arrive at the summit site, followed by Mr Kim, both readying for the 9am meeting that culminated dizzying weeks of negotiations over logistics and policy.

The pair started the momentous Singapore summit with an historic handshake for the world’s media before getting down to talks about North Korea’s nuclear programme.

Mr Trump and Mr Kim met one on one for about 40 minutes, joined only by translators. Then aides to each arrived for more discussions and a working lunch.

The US president said the meetings went “better than anybody could have expected” after the pair emerged from lunch and strolled together down a paved walkway before stopping and posing before the waiting news media.

Mr Trump said the meeting is “going great. We had a really fantastic meeting”. He added that there has been “a lot of progress. Really very positive”

It is believed that the signing will likely revolve around a promise to keep meeting.

The White House said discussions with North Korea have moved “more quickly than expected” and Mr Trump would leave Singapore on Tuesday night, after the summit. He had earlier been scheduled to leave on Wednesday. Mr Trump will visit military bases in Guam and Hawaii on his way back to Washington.

Teams of officials from both sides held working-level talks on Monday.

Senior officials travelling with Mr Trump included secretary of state Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton and White House chief of staff John Kelly. As Mr Trump was travelling to the Capella Hotel which was the site of the summit, he surprisingly tweeted about another senior official - economic adviser Larry Kudlow - with Mr Trump saying he had had a heart attack. The White House later said that Mr Kudlow was in a good condition in hospital having suffered a “very mild” heart attack.

Mr Kim’s delegation consisted of foreign minister Ri Yong Ho, defence minister No Kwang Chol and Kim Yong Chol, a close aide of Kim who has been instrumental in the diplomacy that culminated in Tuesday’s summit.

Kim Yo Jong, leader Kim’s younger sister, was also spotted in his delegation. She emerged as an influential figure in Pyongyang’s opaque leadership in February, when she led a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

When Mr Trump initially agreed to meet with the North Korean leader, the US president spoke of his hope that their encounter could secure a major breakthrough and lead to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

If so, then the meeting would be the most important since Ronald Reagan met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva in November 1985.

Mr Trump has since sought to play down expectations, saying that the meeting will be an important first step, but that securing a deal will likely take many more meetings.

Given that what the US wants to get out of the summit, a rapid denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, may be different to what North Korea wants, there may be many such meetings. Many observers will be looking to see whether Mr Trump does extend an invitation to his counterpart to visit the White House.

Key Points

• Donald Trump says the summit has gone 'better than anybody could imagine'
• North Koreans held in gulags are 'great winners' from Singapore agreement, president says
• US to end 'incredibly expensive' military exercises with South Korea
• North Korea could have 'world's best hotels', says Trump
• Trump 'felt foolish' lobbing insults at Kim

[11 June 2018 07:20 · Adam Withnall]

Donald Trump has thanked the prime minister of Singapore for hosting Tuesday's historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 

Trump told Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that it was a "real honor" to be with him. Trump commented as representatives from both countries took their seats for a working lunch at Singapore's government house. 

The discussions come on the eve of Trump's historic meeting with Kim. 

Trump and Lee shook hands for photographers after a one-on-one meeting and before they entered the room for lunch. 

[11 June 2018 07:22 · Adam Withnall]

Donald Trump (L) is welcomed by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R) during his visit to The Istana 

[11 June 2018 07:27 · Adam Withnall]

Speaking at the lunch, Mr Trump has said he thinks "things can work out very nicely" with North Korea on the eve of his historic summit with Kim Jong-un. 

Mr Trump expressed optimism about Tuesday's meeting during a working lunch with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and aides to both leaders. 

Mr Trump said "we've got a very interesting meeting in particular tomorrow, and I think things can work out very nicely." He also told Mr Lee the decision to hold the summit in the island city-state of Singapore was "made very consciously" and offered his thanks. 

Mr Trump told Mr Lee that "we appreciate your hospitality and professionalism and your friendship." 

Among those representing the US at lunch are Secretary of Secretary Mike Pompeo, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton. 

[11 June 2018 07:28 · Adam Withnall]

Trump and his delegation share a working lunch Singapore's prime minister 

[11 June 2018 07:56 · Adam Withnall]

President Donald Trump got an early birthday celebration during lunch with Singapore's prime minister. 

Singapore's minister for foreign affairs tweeted a photo of Mr Trump and a cake adorned with one candle. 

The caption said: "Celebrating birthday, a bit early." 

Mr Trump turns 72 on Thursday. But before he celebrates, Trump meets North Korea's Kim Jong Un in a highly anticipated summit on Tuesday. 

[11 June 2018 08:03 · Adam Withnall]

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has no current plans to join President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the end of their summit in Singapore. 

Mr Moon's spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, said there are also no plans yet for Mr Moon to speak with Mr Trump after the meeting. 

Mr Moon has expressed hope that the summit will lead to a three-way declaration also including Seoul to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. But the spokesman said it's unlikely that such a declaration would take place while Trump and Kim were still in Singapore. 

Mr Trump has raised the possibility of further summits and an agreement ending the Korean War by replacing the armistice signed in 1953 with a peace treaty. China and South Korea would have to sign off on any legal treaty. 

[11 June 2018 08:22 · Adam Withnall]

Last night a Fox News presenter was forced to apologise after she described the summit in Singapore as a "meeting between two dictators".

Abby Huntsman received a significant Twitter backlash for the on air slip-up. 

She said: "This is history we are living, regardless of what happens in that meeting between the two dictators. What we are seeing right now, this is history."

[11 June 2018 08:32 · Adam Withnall]

Even as he faces one of his most difficult diplomatic tests as president, Donald Trump has continued to attack his G7 allies in the sort of tweets that Angela Merkel has described as "sobering and a little bit depressing". 

On Monday morning alone he has already attacked Justin Trudeau for "acting hurt", as well as the EU and Germany over Nato spending. 

In an editorial, Canada's Globe and Mail hit back over the attacks on its prime minister, calling Mr Trump "vain and delicate" and concluding: 

"We are a polite people, but the President will learn that, when roused, we don’t roll over at the request of an insulting bully, no matter how big."

[11 June 2018 08:42 · Adam Withnall]

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's lead Brexit negotiator, is among those who have shared an image of Donald Trump facing Angela Merkel and other G7 leaders at the weekend. Trump is sitting, while the other leaders stand. 

It has been interpreted in a number of different ways. Mr Verhofstadt appears to enjoy the meme so much, he has had two stabs at it:

Ms Merkel has herself shared the image on her official Instagram page. It was taken by the German cabinet's official photographer Jesco Denze. 

You can read more about the image and the reaction to it, here:

[11 June 2018 08:55 · Adam Withnall]

When Ronald Reagan met Mikhail Gorbachev in their landmark 1985 summit, the US president used a bit of crafty gamesmanship to get an early advantage.

Though a stiff wind was blowing off Lake Geneva, Reagan’s aides decided the US president should great Mr Gorbachev without an overcoat. The Soviet leader – who appeared wearing a thick coat and scarf – was 24 years younger than Reagan, but the American had scored a powerful point about their perceived relative strength and vigour; when they held their second session of the summit, Mr Gorbachev also did without a coat.

As Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un were making final preparations for their Tuesday encounter, it was not clear whether either will bother with an overcoat. Singapore is famously hot and humid, but because it is so sticky here, the air conditioning inside buildings tends to be fierce. Either way, the US president has said he intends to take on Mr Kim – 37 years his younger – man-to-man, Ronald Reagan-style, meeting him for their first session with nobody present but their translators. Reports suggest that meeting could last two hours.

Read more here about tomorrow's man-to-man summit: