President Trump meets Kim Jong Un
By Veronica Rocha, Brian Ries, Ben Westcott, Meg Wagner and Amanda Wills, CNNDennis Rodman: I hope the summit is a success
From CNN’s Justin Solomon
Dennis Rodman said he hopes the Trump-Kim Jong Un summit is a “success” and is “happy to be part of it” because he “deserves” it.
While responding to a CNN question shortly after his arrival at Singapore airport, Rodman said:
“I’m just happy to be a part of it because I think I deserve it, I think I brought awareness on a lot of things around the world, and I think North Korea has given a lot of people the opportunity to do this conference now. And I hope it’s a success.”
He added the meeting between the two leaders “should go fairly well” but that “people expect too much for the first time” although the “door was opening.”
Rodman would not comment on whether he would be meeting with either President Trump or Kim Jong Un.
Dennis Rodman just landed in Singapore
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman just arrived in Singapore for the upcoming summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"He is willing to offer his support for his friends, President Trump and Marshall Kim Jong Un," Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, said.
Rodman has traveled to North Korea in the past and seems to have struck up an unlikely friendship with the North Korean leader. The basketball great also was a contestant on Trump's NBC show, "Celebrity Apprentice," in 2013.
The historic meeting is just hours away. Here's how it will go down.
President Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un will meet in just a few hours. Here's what to watch for and when, according to the White House schedule.
- 8 p.m. ET (June 11) / 8 a.m. Singapore (June 12): President Trump departs Shangri-La Hotel en route to Capella Singapore, where the two leaders will meet.
- 8:20 p.m. ET (June 11) / 8:20 a.m. Singapore (June 12): Trump arrives at Capella Singapore.
- 9 p.m. ET (June 11) / 9 a.m. Singapore (June 12): President Trump and Kim Jong Un greet each other. This is the big moment. Cameras will be there to capture their expected handshake.
- 9:15 p.m. ET (June 11) / 9:15 a.m. Singapore (June 12): President Trump and Kim Jong Un participate in a one-on-one bilateral meeting.
- 10 p.m. ET (June 11) / 10 a.m. Singapore (June 12): President Trump and Kim Jong Un participate in an expanded bilateral meeting.
- 11:30 p.m. ET (June 11) / 11:30 a.m. Singapore (June 12): President Trump and Kim Jong Un have a working lunch.
- 4 a.m. ET (June 12) / 4 p.m. Singapore: President Trump is expected to speak with reporters.
- 6:30 a.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. Singapore: President Trump departs Capella Singapore for Paya Lebar Air Base Singapore.
- 7 a.m. ET / 7 p.m. Singapore: Trump departs Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore, en route to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. From there, he will travel on to the United States.
The chaos that unfolded before Trump arrived in Singapore
Before he left for his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Singapore, President Trump attended another high-profile meeting: The G7 in Canada.
This summit, which is a gathering of leaders from seven allied countries, is usually a meeting among friends. But not what quite happened.
As CNN's Chris Cillizza put it: "Whatever happens in Singapore over the next day or two, it's uniquely possible — and maybe even likely — that what Trump did in Quebec on Friday and Saturday will matter more in the country's long-term geopolitical future, and not in a good way."
Here's what happened — all before landing in Singapore:
- Friday morning: Before Trump even left for the meeting, he floated the possibility of Russia rejoining the G7.
- Saturday morning: Trump arrived late for a gathering of G7 leaders focused on gender diversity. They started the meeting without him.
- Later that day: Trump held a news conference before he left Quebec. He described the meeting as a "10" out of 10 and insisted he had very close personal relationships with, among others, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
- While on Air Force One: Trump, who had apparently watched this Trudeau press conference, tweeted an attack on the Canadian Prime Minister.
Kim Jong Un makes a surprise appearance, walking around downtown Singapore
North Korea's leader, who is staying at the St. Regis, is on the move in Singapore.
Kim went to Marina Bay Sands, a popular hotel in the city. CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported that there were cheers when he walked into the hotel.
He meets with President Trump in less than 12 hours.
Singapore's foreign minister tweets photo of Kim Jong Un's city tour
From CNN’s Sarah Faidell and Yoonjung Seo
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan tweeted a photo with Kim Jong Un on an apparent tour of the city.
The tweet shows Balakrishnan and Kim Jong Un smiling at the camera and reads: “#jalanjalan #guesswhere?”
“Jalan-jalan” means “taking a walk” in Malay.
Just a few hours ago, the foreign minister also tweeted a photo showing Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chief of Staff John Kelly celebrating Trump's birthday, which is on June 14.
Trump and Japan's Abe talked on the phone ahead of summit
From CNN’s Junko Ogura
President Trump called Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday for both leaders to be “on the same page��� ahead of the North Korea-US summit on Tuesday.
“I think Japan and the US, along with South Korea are in 'complete agreement' over the basic policy” on North Korea, Abe told reporters on Monday.
Abe added that he hoped Tuesday’s summit will be a “historic meeting and it will be the first step toward peace and stability in Northeast Asia.”
He also said Trump had renewed his pledge to bring up the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens to North Korea.
On again, off again: Here's how we got to this moment
President Trump's meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un was first announced in March. Since then, it has been abruptly canceled — and just as abruptly put back on the calendar.
Here's a look at how the summit came to be:
- March 8: US officials say North Korea has invited President Trump to meet their leader Kim Jong Un. Trump agrees to the meeting and tweets, "Meeting being planned!"
- April: The US and North Korea hold secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit, several administration officials tell CNN.
- April 18: Trump confirms that then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo — who would later become secretary of state — visited North Korea and met with leader Kim Jong Un weeks earlier.
- May 10: Trump announces that the meeting is set for June 12 in Singapore, tweeting, "We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!"
- May 24: Trump says he will not meet Kim, releasing a letter he sent the North Korean leader. In the letter, Trump warned North Korea that the US military is ready to act should Pyongyang take any "foolish and reckless" action.
- May 25: A day after cancelling the summit, Trump says he remains open to holding the meeting on June 12.
- May 30: Senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol meets with US Secretary of State Pompeo in New York City.
- June 1: Chol travels to Washington, DC, and meets with President Trump. Their Oval Office meeting lasts for more than an hour, and Chol personally delivers a letter from Kim Jong Un himself.
- Also on June 1: Moments after the meeting with Chol ends, Trump announces that the June 12 summit is back on.
This is the hotel where Kim Jong Un and President Trump will meet
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond
President Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un will meet for the first time at the Capella Hotel on Singapore's Sentosa Island.
Delegations from the US and North Korea met four times last week at the Capella Hotel to hash out the logistics of the summit, with setting an appropriate venue for the summit at the top of the agenda.
The red-shingled, colonial-style Capella is a five-star hotel on Sentosa Island, which boasts several resorts, hotels, two golf courses and a theme park.
The five-star luxury hotel, which has 112 rooms, is representative of the East-meets-West spirit so commonly associated with Singapore. Rooms look out onto the South China Sea, and peacocks can be seen on the property.