President Trump predicted early Tuesday that he and Kim Jong Un would have “a tremendous relationship” as the commander in chief and North Korean dictator shook hands and began their historic summit in Singapore.
“I feel really great. We’ll have a great discussion. Tremendous success. This will be tremendously successful. It’s my honor. We will have a terrific relationship,” the president told reporters as he and Kim sat across from one another moments after the historic handshake on a stage bedecked with US and North Korean flags.
“We’re here, overcoming everything,” the reclusive Kim told Trump, adding that the two countries overcame many obstacles on their way forward.
“That’s true,” the president agreed.
Trump and Kim then met behind closed doors together for a meeting that only months ago seemed impossible.
The historic session came just days before Trump’s 72nd birthday on Thursday.
“Meetings between staffs and representatives are going well and quickly….but in the end, that doesn’t matter,” Trump tweeted before his encounter with Kim. “We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!”
The two leaders arrived with scores of aides, bodyguards and diplomats in tow. But for the first part of their discussion, they squared off mano-a-mano, with only a pair of translators, raising fears about the risks of conducting such a monumental meeting with no other witnesses.
After greeting each other for the first time at 9 a.m. Tuesday Singapore time — 9 p.m. New York time — in front of reporters, the president and the North Korean leader secluded themselves on Singapore’s Sentosa island for roughly 45 minutes while their entourages waited nearby.
The tête-à-tête was followed by a larger meeting and a working lunch attended by Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the White House said, along with of their North Korean counterparts.
Word of the private sit-down drew critics on social media.
“Bad idea,” tweeted Paul Haenle, a former China director at the White House National Security Council in the Obama and George W. Bush administrations. “I could see Trump giving up a lot for very little in return.”
Having aides present in high-stakes meetings — especially ones with adversaries like the dictator of North Korea — provides a president with some protection, ensuring there are staffers on hand to take accurate notes.
But there is established precedent for presidents meeting privately with foreign leaders — including foes — with only interpreters.
Former President Barack Obama was known to occasionally hold impromptu chats with leaders on the sidelines of major global summits, with only their translators at their sides.
Trump raised eyebrows early in his presidency when he met with Russia’s Vladimir Putin during a conference in Germany with only a Kremlin translator present.
At former President Ronald Reagan’s first meeting with then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 1985, the two met alone with only trusted translators. Only 15 minutes had been allotted for the discussion, but it went on for a full hour.
Political figures, including Democrats, wished Trump well in his quest for a workable nuclear deal with Kim.
“Good luck Mr President,” tweeted longtime Democratic Party operative and Clinton supporter Donna Brazile. “Many of us are praying for a successful meeting in #Singapore.”
Trump predicted earlier Monday that the summit could “work out very nicely” as officials from both countries sought to narrow differences on how to end a nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula.
Pompeo said the meeting could provide “an unprecedented opportunity to change the trajectory of our relationship and bring peace and prosperity” to North Korea.
The White House later said discussions with the North had moved “more quickly than expected” and that Trump would leave Singapore on Tuesday night after the summit, 15 hours earlier than planned.
But other reports said it was Kim who decided to leave early, even though Trump was willing to stick around.
The thaw, however temporary, is a far cry from last year, when Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury” and mocked Kim as “Little Rocket Man,” and Kim slammed Trump as the “mentally deranged US dotard.”
With Wires