US, North Korea race against time to narrow differences on summit eve

Senior North Korean Diplomat Choe Son Hui leaves the Ritz-Carlton hotel following a meeting in Singapore June 11, 2018. / Reuters

U.S. and North Korean officials were in talks in Singapore on Monday in a late bid to narrow differences before their leaders hold an unprecedented summit meeting aimed at finding ways to end a nuclear stand-off on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in the tropical city-state on Sunday for the historic meeting, which will be the first time leaders of the two countries have come face-to-face.

Key gaps remain over what denuclearisation would entail for two countries that have been enemies since the 1950-1953 Korean War, and the officials were trying to push the agenda forward before the leaders meet on Tuesday. Commenting for the first time on the agenda, North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency said the two sides would exchange "wide-ranging and profound views" to re-set relations.

It heralded the summit as part of a "changed era". Discussions would focus on "the issue of building a permanent and durable peace-keeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, the issue of realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and other issues of mutual concern," KCNA said.

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, second right, arrives for a meeting with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel in Singapore, Monday, June 11, 2018. / AP

Senior North Korean Diplomat Choe Kang Il arrives at Ritz Carlton Hotel for a working-level meeting with U.S. officials in Singapore June 11, 2018. / Reuters

In the lead up to the summit, North Korea rejected any unilateral nuclear disarmament, and KCNA's reference to denuclearisation of the peninsula has historically meant that Pyongyang wants the United States to remove its "nuclear umbrella" protecting South Korea and Japan. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is also in Singapore, said in a tweet that Washington was "committed to the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula".

Many experts on North Korea, one of the most insular and unpredictable countries in the world, remain skeptical Kim will ever completely abandon its cherished nuclear weapons. They believe Kim's latest engagement is aimed at getting the United States to ease the crippling sanctions that have squeezed the impoverished country.

A Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. side was entering the talks with a sense of optimism and an equal dose of scepticism given North Korea's long history of developing nuclear weapons. "We will not be surprised by any scenario," said the official.

Members of the media work as part of coverage of the summit between North Korea and the U.S. in Singapore June 11, 2018. / Reuters

Members of the media work as part of coverage of the summit between North Korea and the U.S. in Singapore June 11, 2018. / Reuters

With the eyes of the world following him, Trump flew into Singapore's Paya Lebar Air Base aboard Air Force One on Sunday, fresh from a divisive G7 meeting in Canada with some of
Washington's closest allies that further strained global trade ties.

Asked by a reporter how he felt about the summit, Trump said: "Very good".

In a tweet on Monday, he said: "Great to be in Singapore, excitement in the air!"

Kim had arrived hours earlier in a plane loaned by China, which for decades has been North Korea's only major ally. (Reuters)

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