Kim Jong-un has been spotted arriving at a casino housed in a luxury hotel after his surprise midnight walkabout in Singapore. Photographers captured the North Korean leader entering the Marina Bay Sands resort with his entourage, who kept the crowds at bay. Ahead of his midnight tour, Mr Kim took a selfie with Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Speaking ahead of Mr Kim’s landmark summit with Donald Trump on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that sanctions against North Korea “will remain until North Korea completely and verifiably eliminates its weapons of mass destruction programmes. “If diplomacy does not move in the right direction… then those sanctions will increase.” Doing so, would create a “bright future” not only for North Korea, but there would also be “enormous potential to accomplish something that will immensely benefit our peoples and the entire world”, he continued. The White House has released a statement saying that talks between the two countries are ongoing, and have “moved more quickly than expected.”
President Trump and Kim Jong Un will meet again tomorrow morning for a “one-on-one” meeting. If Mr Kim committed his country to “the complete and verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”, then the US would work with the secretive state to “expand access to foreign investment and other economic opportunities for North Korea”. Mr Pompeo’s comments came following talks between diplomats from the US and North Korea which are paving the way for Tuesday’s summit. Mr Trump expressed optimism about Tuesday’s meeting during a working lunch on Monday with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and aides to both leaders, saying that he believes “things can work out very nicely” with North Korea. 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. He said “we appreciate your hospitality and professionalism and your friendship”. The meeting came after Mr Trump arrived on Sunday on Air Force One into the steamy Singapore night, greeting officials and declaring he felt “very good” before being whisked away to his hotel via a route lined with police and photo-snapping onlookers. Hours earlier, a jet carrying North Korean President Mr Kim had landed.
Security in Singapore has been beefed-up ahead of the summit, with elite Gurkha police officers from Nepal drafted in to protect one of the highest-profile diplomatic events so far this century. According to custom, the large curved knives of the fearsome Nepalese fighters must “taste blood” whenever they’re drawn. After shaking hands with Singapore’s foreign minister, Mr Kim sped through the streets in a limousine, two large North Korean flags fluttering on the car, surrounded by other black vehicles with tinted windows and bound for the luxurious and closely guarded St Regis Hotel. Mr Kim is said to be fearful of assassination attempts during his time in Singapore. His car was seen surrounded by jogging bodyguards providing an extra layer of security as it made its way through the streets of Singapore.
