Trump, Kim to fly into Singapore on Sunday By By Kim Jae-kyoung

8 June, 2018 | Filed under: All News | Posted by:


SINGAPORE ― U.S. President Donald Trump will fly into Singapore and check in at The Shangri-La Hotel on Sunday, two days ahead of his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to hotel officials, Friday.

They said Trump plans to spend four days from June 10 to 13 and leave a day after the summit, which is due to begin June 12 at 10:00 a.m. (KST).

The North Korean leader is also expected to arrive in Singapore on Sunday. Reuters reported on Friday that Kim will land at Singapore’s Changi airport on Sunday, citing a source involved in the planning of the trip.

It is unknown if the same-day arrival of the two leaders was decided through negotiations of the two countries. It’s possible Trump and Kim could meet secretly somewhere in the city-size state before their first official summit on Tuesday.

A group of western men, presumably members of the U.S. Secret Service who will guard U.S. President Donald Trump, board on mini buses at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, Friday. A hotel official said that they arrived today and checked sites and facilities at the hotel. / Korea Times photo by Kim Jae-kyoung

Trump to check in Sunday evening

 

“President Trump is scheduled to check in at our hotel on Sunday evening and check out on June 13,” a Shangri-La official said on condition of anonymity.

“A group of bodyguards from the U.S. government for Trump arrived today and they checked sites and facilities at the hotel. I think more people from the U.S. will join tomorrow.

Since Sentosa’s Capella Hotel was announced as the summit venue, there has been growing speculation on where President Trump would be based during his stay here.

This is the first time a hotel official has confirmed his stay at the 792-room five-star hotel sitting on land off Orchard Road.

The Korea Times first reported the delegation from the U.S. will be unpacking its bags at the hotel designated as a special event area by the Singapore government together with the Capella Hotel.

The U.S. Embassy in Singapore reserved most of the rooms at the hotel from June 8 to 14 for the summit.

The White House said Thursday Trump plans to cut short his visit to the G7 Summit in Canada, Saturday, and fly directly to Singapore for his planned meeting with Kim.

“President Trump will depart the G7 Summit at Charlevoix at 10:30 a.m. Saturday,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

“The president will travel directly to Singapore from Canada in anticipation of his upcoming meeting with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, Tuesday.”

As of Friday afternoon, security at the hotel and surrounding areas, according to spot checks by The Korea Times, was not that tight but another Shangri-La official said it will be increased greatly on June 10.

“From Sunday, those who are not staying at our hotel must go through tight security checks,” the official said.

“People and cars entering the hotel will be subject to spot checks and inspections. I think security will be much tighter than during the Shangri-La Dialogue held earlier this month.”

The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s highest-level annual security summit attended by defense ministers and military chiefs from 28 Asia-Pacific states. This year’s summit ended last Sunday.

The Korea Times reporter Park Si-soo contributed to this article from Seoul.

Source:koreatimes.co.kr