Trump-Kim summit: White House confirms leaders will meet on Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa
The five-star Capella Hotel was not an obvious choice because it has not previously hosted high-level political events
The landmark summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be held at Singapore’s Capella Hotel on the island resort of Sentosa, off the city state’s southern tip, the White House has confirmed.
Trump’s press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed the venue for the June 12 event on Twitter on Tuesday, writing: “The venue for the Singapore summit between @POTUS and Leader Kim Jong Un will be the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island. We thank our great Singaporean hosts for their hospitality.”
The Singapore government meanwhile has announced enhanced security measures around the venue and said it would restrict air space over the city state from June 11 to 13.
The five-star Capella Hotel, owned by Singapore property firm Pontiac Land Group, was not an obvious choice among observers to host the summit because, unlike the more central Shangri-La Hotel, high-key political meetings have not previously been held there. But it does have the advantage of seclusion.
Sentosa island has just one land link with mainland Singapore – a 710-metre causeway. It is also connected with the mainland via cable car.
The island has some two kilometres of sheltered beaches, two golf courses and is also the home of Universal Studios Singapore. It was once a pirate hang-out known as Pulau Belakang Mati, or “Island of Death from Behind”.
Today, Sentosa – which means peace and tranquillity in Malay – is one of Singapore’s most prestigious addresses, with “good class” bungalows there costing up to S$50 million (US$37.4 million).
“The location of Capella hotel which is separated from [the] mainland may serve as a virtual wall to keep out security threats from approaching the summit,” Singaporean national security researcher Muhamamad Faizal Abdul Rahman told This Week in Asia.