North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un arrived on Sunday in Singapore ahead of a summit meeting with Donald Trump. The meeting is important and all credit must go to Trump who has achieved out-of-the-box results as far as North Korea is concerned. He has caught the bull by the horns, something previous presidents avoided. The visit by Kim is a path-breaking trip as it is the first time a North Korean leader has ventured on an overseas trip. No North Korean leader has ever flown outside the North for any visit or meeting. ABC News has reported that Kim Jong-un landed in Singapore on Sunday on an Air China special flight.
Kim lands
Kim sped through the city's streets in a massive limousine draped in North Korean flags to the St Regis hotel where the historic meeting with Trump will take place. Trump has already cut short his visit to the G-7 meeting to attend the summit with the North Korean leader.
The stakes are high
The visit by Kim Jong-un to Singapore is now the news of the world and over 3,000 journalists have landed in Singapore to cover the event. AP news has reported that Donald Trump has also landed in Singapore on Airforce One and is going into the meeting with Kim with an open mind. The stakes are high and supporters of Trump are hoping that he will be able to convince Kim to de-nuclearise. Trump has already said that in case there is no headway on this crucial problem, he will walk away from the meeting.
To his credit, he has also said that in case the meeting goes well, he will invite Kim to visit the USA.
It was only a few months ago that Kim was being painted by the western press as a monster and a cruel dictator who took sadistic pleasure in executing his opponents. Kim by venturing on his first visit overseas has changed much of that perception.
The very fact that Trump is holding a summit with him is proof enough that Kim is no longer an international pariah.
Result
While landing at Singapore, Kim exuded confidence but sceptics are not convinced that the North will give up its nuclear weapons. Kim and Trump are scheduled to meet on Monday and without doubt, this will be a momentous event in world history.
It's hard to reconcile that the Korean war was over in 1953 and no American president ever visualised meeting the North Korean leader and normalise relations. Donald Trump has not followed the beaten track laid down by earlier presidents and has charted an independent course in almost all matters. He deserves credit for it, even if the summit meeting falls short of expectations.
