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Trump-Kim summit
AsiaDiplomacy

What’s on the table in Singapore? A birthday cake and North Korean denuclearisation

Nukes and normalising relations are the issues facing the two leaders at what US President Donald Trump has called a ‘one-time shot’ at peace

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US President Donald Trump and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shake hands during a meeting at the Istana in Singapore. Photo: Reuters
Lee Jeong-hoandBhavan Jaipragas

Complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula, or CVID – will there be any mention of this crucial American demand when US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet on Tuesday?

That appeared to be the main issue of debate on Monday as top aides from both sides met for last-minute talks on the joint communique to be issued after the historic summit between the two leaders.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Twitter that both sides held “substantive and detailed meetings” in a post accompanied with pictures of the veteran American diplomat Sung Kim, a Korea expert, meeting with Pyongyang officials.

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North Korea’s delegation included Choe Son-hui, a top diplomat who handles ties with Washington.

China may take bigger role as ‘guarantor and mediator’ after Trump-Kim nuclear talks
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The meeting, held in the morning at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Singapore Marina Bay district, lasted about two hours. Delegates from both sides who were spotted by the South China Morning Post appeared expressionless as they left. A second, three-and-a-half hour meeting was held in the afternoon.

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