All programs opt for ancient summit, Singapore says

Singapore is preparing for the historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un as more than 3,000 members of the media arrive.

Tuesday's summit is being held against a backdrop of a huge international media presence and tight security.

For more than a week journalists have been staking out Singapore's luxury hotels, airports and government buildings to catch a glimpse of officials involved in summit preparations.

Image: A gardener decorates a cannon at Fort Siloso with flowers as a symbolic gesture of peace

Security is so tight that two South Korean journalists from the national broadcaster KBS have been arrested on suspicion of trespassing in the residence of North Korea's ambassador.

Another KBS journalist and an interpreter are also under investigation.

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Singapore's foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, says it is "all systems go" for the summit.

Mr Balakrishnan has visited North Korea to make sure "everything was spick and span and in place" ahead of the talks - and earlier in the week, he travelled to North Korea and met US secretary of state Mike Pompeo as well as national security adviser John Bolton.

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He told reporters that Washington and Pyongyang are pleased with the arrangements and said he sees sincerity from both sides ahead of the talks.

"If a breakthrough is achieved, if peace comes, there will be a bountiful harvest, primarily of course within the Korean Peninsula but indeed for all the rest of us," he said.

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The Singapore coastal hotel where Mr Trump and Mr Kim will meet is overseen by a wealthy Singapore family.

The 112-room Capella, which juts out of a landscaped island in Singapore's harbour, is owned by the city's Kwee family, according to Singapore media.

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Image: The 112-room Capella which juts out of a landscaped island in Singapore's harbour

Their Pontiac Land Group company has been building a network of lavish hotels across Asia and Singapore.

It has even intruded on the Trump Organisation's New York base, building a 72-storey condominium and museum gallery project in Manhattan.

Original Article

World

September 21, 2018