With a handshake, US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un on Tuesday kicked off a momentous summit, as they began a conversation that could determine historic peace or raise the spectre of a growing nuclear threat.
In the first-of-its-kind meeting, Trump and Kim converged at a luxury resort on Singapore's Sentosa Island.
In the run-up to the talks, Trump had hopefully predicted the two men might strike a nuclear deal or forge a formal end to the Korean War.
This is the first official meeting between the North-Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un and US president Donald Trump. They met in Singapore's Capella Resort for the 'talk', and made a historic handshake.
The 'private' meeting went on for 38 minutes, after which Trump said that the meeting was 'very very good' and that they have an excellent relationship, according to the Associated Press.
After the private meet, the leaders moved to a larger discussion with their advisers , including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton, White House chief of staff John Kelly.
After the meeting they proceeded for a 'working lunch' which included of North Korean dishes like 'Oiseon' (Korean stuffed cucumber), 'Daegu jorim' (Soy Braised cod fish with Radish, Asian Vegetables), Tropezienne (dessert) among other delicacies.
Kim Jong-Un told the media, “The old prejudices and practices worked as obstacles on our way forward, but we overcame all of them and we are here today.” On the other hand Trump said that the meeting was fantastic and will definitely lead to progress.
Post-lunch, the two leaders signed a series of documents which Trump described to be 'historic' and 'pretty comprehensive', according to media reports. He described signing 'three comprehensive documents' between them and said they’d be handed out at a news conference this afternoon.
When asked if Kim was a worthy negotiator, the US president responded: “A worthy negotiator...a very worthy, very smart negotiator. We had a terrific day and we learned a lot about each other and our countries.”
After the 'bond' was signed, Kim Jong-Un left Singapore, thanking Trump for making the meet happen.
Twitter has gone overboard with speculations over the Singapore summit by launching a new emoji solely dedicated to this new friendship. Two hands, Trump and Kim’s, are seen hi-fiving over the assumed success of the meet.
According to an article by news.com, North Koreans did not know about the meeting till yesterday. This is a break of tradition as the public is only informed about official meets after the leader is back.
Both the leaders seemed to be happy about the talk and the signed 'bond'. Trump will meet the media, this afternoon.
(With inputs from Associated Press)