Why Kim Jong-un may not want to meet Donald Trump in Singapore
While the Lion City may be Washington’s preferred choice for the groundbreaking meeting, the North Korean leader is believed to want to stay closer to home
Kim Jong-un may be reluctant to travel to Singapore for his proposed summit meeting with Donald Trump, analysts said, citing a range of factors including North Korea’s distant relations with the city state and Kim’s reluctance to travel by air.
Following Friday’s historic sessions between North and South Korea, the focus will shift to the proposed landmark summit, the first time a sitting US president will have met the Communist state’s leader.
It is widely believed that back-channel talks have been under way in preparation for the meetings, which the White House has indicated will happen in May or June.
Citing government sources, South Korea’s Joongang Ilbo reported on Wednesday that Singapore and Mongolia had made the shortlist of possible locations, adding that neutral European countries like Sweden and Switzerland were unlikely to be selected given the distance and security concerns.
Wang Sheng, a professor of Korean affairs at Jilin University in northeastern China, said that the agenda and location of the Trump-Kim meeting may have been among the topics discussed at Friday’s inter-Korea summit.
“The US could find Singapore a good location for the meeting because it perceives that it has been siding more with them on North Korean issues,” Wang added.
“The perception of Singapore’s place in the international community would also make it suitable.”
