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US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim hold talks in Singapore
The North Korean dictator said there were a number of "obstacles" to the meeting taking place in Singapore today.
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US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met and shook hands here today, kicking off their history-making summit aimed at normalising bilateral ties and complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
Trump and Kim shook hands at a luxury hotel in Singapore's Sentosa island after months of diplomatic twists and turns.
The two men walked towards each other and firmly gripped each other's hands in front of US and North Korean flags.
They are the first leaders of their respective countries to meet, the culmination of months of diplomatic wrangling and negotiations.
The President expressed hope that the historic summit would be "tremendously successful."
Sitting next to the North Korean leader, Trump said, "We will have a terrific relationship ahead."
"I feel really great. It's gonna be a great discussion and I think tremendous success. I think it's gonna be really successful and I think we will have a terrific relationship, I have no doubt," Trump responded when asked how he felt in the first minute.
The North Korean dictator said there were a number of "obstacles" to the meeting taking place in Singapore today.
"We overcame all of them and we are here today," he told reporters through a translator.
After shaking hands in front of a row of American and North Korean flags, Trump and Kim walked along a colonnade, inside the hotel and up a flight of stairs.
At 9:06 AM (local time), they entered the room where they held their one-on-one meeting. The translator sat beside Trump.
The North Korean dictator said there were a number of "obstacles" to the meeting taking place in Singapore today.
"Well, it was not easy to get here. The past has placed many obstacles in our way but we overcame all of them and we are here today," he told reporters through a translator.
Trump then said "Thank you very much".
Fourteen reporters are participating in the tight pool, seven each from the US and North Korea.
On the agenda is North Korea's nuclear capabilities, which Trump is hoping to convince them to abandon in exchange for economic assistance.
Sentosa is a popular tourist island a few hundred metres off the main island of Singapore.
The summit - the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader - will mark a turnaround of relations between Trump and Kim after a long-running exchange of threats and insults.
On the eve of the summit, the US offered "unique" security guarantees to North Korea in return for a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearisation.
The White House has confirmed that President Trump, 71, and Kim, 34, will initially hold a one-on-one meeting, with only translators present.
The US insists it will accept nothing less than complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
The official North Korean news agency said on Sunday that Kim was ready to talk about "denuclearisation" and a "durable peace" at a summit held "for the first time in history under the great attention and expectation of the whole world."
Trump said on Saturday that Kim has a "one-time shot" to make history.
"I feel that Kim Jong-un wants to do something great for his people," he had said.
Timeline of events
Following is the chronology of key events leading to a historic summit today between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un: March 7, 2017: President Trump says the nuclear threat from North Korea has entered a "new phase", a day after Pyongyang test-launched four ballistic missiles towards Japan.
April 26, 2017: The Trump administration briefs US Congress on its North Korea policy and releases a statement that calls for increasing sanctions pressure on North Korea and working with allies and regional partners on diplomacy.
April 27, 2017: Trump warns that a "major major" conflict with North Korea, and said that he is seeking a diplomatic solution to the issue.
May 24, 2017: Trump refers to Kim as a "madman with nuclear weapons" who could not be let to run loose.
June 1, 2017: The US imposes sanctions on individuals and entities linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.
July 4, 2017: Pyongyang test fires a long-range missile into the Sea of Japan, with some experts stating the missile could potentially reach Alaska, a US state located in the northwest extremity of North America.
August 9, 2017: Tension rises as North Korean threatens to fire ballistic missiles near US Pacific territory of Guam.
September 19, 2017: In his first address to the UN General Assembly, President Trump threatens to "totally destroy North Korea."
September 21, 2017: President Trump issues an executive order imposing additional sanctions on entities that facilitate financial transactions and trade with North Korea.
September 21, 2017: Kim responds to Trump's UN speech with an unprecedented statement under his own name, calling Trump's behaviour "mentally deranged" and asserting that "a frightened dog barks louder."
November 20, 2017: President Trump officially designates North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
December 22, 2017: The UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 2397, imposing additional sanctions on North Korea, including cutting refined petroleum imports by nearly 90 per cent.
January 1, 2018: Kim announces in his annual New Year address that North Korea's nuclear forces are "capable of thwarting and countering any nuclear threats from the United States".
February 23, 2018: President Trump announces new sanctions against North Korea, targeting the country's shipping, trading companies and vessels.
March 8, 2018: The United States and North Korea announce that their leaders plan to meet before June to discuss nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula.
March 25, 2018: Kim makes first visit to China to meet President Xi Jinping.
May 8, 2018: Kim makes second visit to China to meet President Xi.
May 8, 2018: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to North Korea to meet Kim in preparation for the US-North Korean summit.
May 9, 2018: North Korea releases three American detainees as a goodwill gesture ahead of a possible summit between Trump and Kim.
May 10, 2018: President Trump announces he will meet Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
May 15, 2018: North Korea cancels talks with South Korea scheduled for the next day and threatened to cancel the Trump-Kim summit, citing discontent with US-South Korean joint military drills.
May 24, 2018: North Korea reports that it destroyed its nuclear testing site at Punggye-ri.
May 24, 2018: In a letter to Kim, Trump cancels the US-North Korean summit scheduled for June 12, citing "tremendous anger and hostility" displayed by Pyongyang.
May 25, 2018: In response to Trump's letter, Kim Kye Gwan, North Korean first minister of foreign affairs, states that North Korea "has the intent to sit with the US side regardless of ways at any time."
June 1, 2018: President Trump takes a U-turn and confirms that he would meet Kim for a historic summit in Singapore on June 12 and that it will be the beginning of a "process."
June 10, 2018: Trump and Kim arrives in Singapore for the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.
June 11, 2018: Mike Pompeo says US is offering "unique" security guarantees to North Korea in return for a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearisation.
June 12, 2018: President Trump and North Korean leader Kim meets for a historic face-to-face summit.
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