Singapore likely venue for Trump-Kim summit: sources By Yi Whan-woo

Singapore has emerged as the most likely venue for the planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to multiple diplomatic sources, Monday.

The sources said the historic summit will likely take place between June 9 and 15, after Trump attends the G-7 Summit slated for June 8 to 9 in Quebec, Canada.

This suggests the White House is losing interest in the truce village of Panmunjeom, although Trump proposed both the Peace House and Freedom House as possible venues for the summit.

The Peace House and Freedom House are conference buildings located on the southern side of Panmunjeom.

On April 30, Trump tweeted “Numerous countries are being considered for the meeting but would Peace House / Freedom House, on the border of North and South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a third party country? Just asking!”

During a joint press conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, also on April 30, Trump said, “We’re looking at various countries, including Singapore. And we are also talking about the possibility of the DMZ.”

Singapore is one of the third-party countries, along with Mongolia, Sweden and Switzerland that have been touted as a candidate meeting.

Panmunjeom then emerged as a likely setting for the first-ever meeting between sitting leaders of the U.S. and North Korea, after President Moon Jae-in and Kim met there April 27.

Kim became the first North Korean leader to cross the border into the South.

Sources speculated that Trump, former host of a reality TV show, wants his meeting with Kim to look as dramatic as that of the Moon-Kim summit.

They also referred to Trump who said the Peace House carried symbolic value that having the summit in a third country would lack.

Trump tried to visit the DMZ last November during a trip to Seoul before dense fog forced his helicopter to turn back.

The sources said the White House is leaning toward Singapore over Panmunjeom for “practical reasons.”

A source pointed out that officials of the U.S. and North Korea have held talks several times in Singapore and it is an excellent neutral location for both sides.

A different source said Singapore has a history of hosting summits for leaders of third countries, including that of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in 2015.

Both the U.S. and North Korea have embassies in Singapore, making it easier for their officials to prepare for the summit.

As a global air hub, Singapore is also capable of offering possible maintenance for Air Force One as well as Kim’s old private jet from the Soviet era.

The sources said Mongolia was considered a candidate as being closer to North Korea than others but was rejected for lacking infrastructure and support for the U.S. presidential escort and international coverage.

Sweden and Switzerland were seen less favorable for North Korea because they were too far away.

Meanwhile, North Korea accused the U.S. of making a risky attempt to “ruin the hardly won atmosphere of dialogue,” Sunday.

Pyongyang’s rare criticism of Washington in recent weeks is seen as a bid to gain diplomatic leverage ahead of the Trump-Kim summit.

“It would not be conducive to addressing the issue if the U.S. miscalculates the peace-loving intention of the DPRK as a sign of weakness and continues to pursue its pressure and military threats against the latter,” an unnamed spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry said in an interview with the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The DPRK is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

The spokesman blamed the U.S. for “misleading the public opinion, arguing as if the North’s clarification of its intention for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula made through the Panmunjom Declaration adopted at the historic North-South summit is the result of so-called sanctions and pressure.”

He added, “This act cannot be construed otherwise than a dangerous attempt to ruin the hardly won atmosphere of dialogue and bring the situation back to square one.”

Source:koreatimes.co.kr