North Korea Summit: Trump Says Denuclearization Must Be Verifiable

SINGAPORE — The Latest on the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in Singapore (all times local):

6:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump is telling reporters that North Korea’s denuclearization will have to be total and verifiable as he prepares to head home from his historic summit with Kim Jong Un.

Trump spoke with reporters on Tuesday shortly before Air Force One took off from Singapore after a day of meetings with Kim.

Trump says the U.S. would have to verify North Korea’s denuclearization. He says: “We’re going to have to check it. We will check it. Total and complete.”

Trump is heading home a day earlier than expected. He said he didn’t want to stay an extra night when everything he’d set out to do had been accomplished.

He says, “There was nothing more we could have done.”

Trump will be stopping in Guam and Hawaii as he makes his way back to Washington.

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6:25 p.m.

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog is welcoming President Donald Trump’s joint statement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says his agency “stands ready to undertake any verification activities in (North Korea) that it may be requested to conduct by the countries concerned.”

He noted that the Trump-Kim statement signed Tuesday in Singapore includes a North Korean commitment “towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Amano says the IAEA “will closely follow the negotiations to be held between the two countries to implement the outcomes” of Trump’s summit with Kim.

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5:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump has stunned the Korean Peninsula by announcing the stoppage of U.S.-South Korean annual war games that have long been defended as defensive and vital by the allies.

Trump spoke to reporters after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday and essentially took the North Korean line on the military exercises, calling them “provocative.”

The 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea.

Trump called the war games “tremendously expensive,” suggested South Korea didn’t contribute enough and said they would be “inappropriate” as the U.S. and North Korea negotiate a new relationship.

A statement from South Korean President Moon Jae-in says the Trump-Kim summit opens a new era of peace and cooperation. The statement did not address Trump’s comments about the drills.

Seoul’s presidential office told the Associated Press that it was trying to discern the exact meaning and intent of Trump’s comments.

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5:40 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he really believes North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is going to make good on his promise to denuclearize.

Trump said Tuesday near the end of a lengthy press conference in Singapore that he may be wrong about Kim, but he’ll never admit it.

Trump jokes that he “may stand before you in six months and say, ‘Hey, I was wrong.'” But he says, “I don’t know that I’ll ever admit that.”

Trump appeared to be in a good spirits as he answered questions for almost an hour following a day of meetings with Kim and other North Korean officials.

He ended by congratulating reporters and saying he’s eager to “take it a little bit easy” now that the highly anticipated summit is over.

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5:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he thinks “we’ll probably need another summit”— or at least a second meeting — with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as they discuss Kim’s commitment to denuclearization.

But Trump told reporters in Singapore on Tuesday that he and Kim were able to cover far more ground than he’d expected.

He says, “We’re much further along than I would have thought.”

Trump answered reporters’ questions at a free-wheeling press conference before returning to the U.S.

He appeared to be enjoying himself as he went back and forth with the press.

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5:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump says North Korea has a “substantial arsenal” of nuclear weapons and the summit should have happened five years ago.

At a news conference Tuesday after his meeting with Kim Jong Un, Trump discussed efforts to press him to get rid of its nuclear weapons.

The president says that the U.S. doesn’t have a lot of intelligence on the country but that “we have enough intelligence to know that what they have is very substantial.”

The president says Kim understands what the U.S. has been pushing for in the talks. Trump says, “I think he’s going to do these things.”

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5:15 p.m.

The spokesman for the Iranian government is warning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that President Donald Trump could nullify any nuclear deal with North Korea.

The semi-official Fars news agency quotes Mohammad Bagher Nobakht as saying Tuesday: “We are facing a man who revokes his signature while abroad.”

Nobakht’s remarks are the first by an Iranian official after Trump and Kim concluded their nuclear summit.

While flying for talks with Kim on Sunday, Trump rejected an agreement signed by the leaders of the G-7 countries at their summit in Canada.

The U.S. also pulled out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May.

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5:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump says discussions over the next steps to take with North Korea will be happening soon.

Trump said Tuesday after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore that “We’re getting together next week to go into the details.”

It’s unclear where those discussions will take place or which North Korean officials will be involved.

But he says the talks will include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

A joint agreement signed by the two leaders earlier Tuesday says the U.S. and North Korea have committed to hold follow-up negotiations, led by Pompeo and “a relevant high-level DPRK official” at the “earliest possible date.”

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5:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump says that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “learned” from the mistake of criticizing him and that it’s going to cost Canada “a lot of money.”

At a news conference in Singapore on Tuesday, Trump recounted his recent tough exchanges with Trudeau. He says the Canadian leader must not have realized that Trump had televisions on Air Force One, allowing him to monitor Trudeau’s news conference at the end of the G-7 summit.

The president also recounted his discussions during the G-7 summit and his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the final document. Trump says the photo taken of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others standing before him was taken as they were waiting for changes he’d requested.

Trump says it “didn’t look friendly” but it was “very friendly.”

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5:05 p.m.

China has suggested that the UN Security Council could consider suspending or lifting sanctions against North Korea if Pyongyang is in compliance with UN resolutions and making progress in diplomatic negotiations.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Tuesday that China “welcomes and supports” talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump to reach consensus on denuclearization and establishing a peace mechanism.

Geng told reporters in Beijing that the Security Council’s sanctions against the North could be suspended or lifted in accordance with the North’s actions.

Geng says, “Sanctions are not an end,” Geng said. He says: “We believe the Security Council should make efforts to support the diplomat efforts at the present time.”

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5 p.m.

President Donald Trump is pushing back on criticism that the U.S. has gotten little in return for his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump told reporters at a news conference in Singapore Tuesday after his meeting that he “gave up nothing.”

He says “it’s not a big deal” for world leaders to meet with the president of the United States.

Trump announced that he will stop conducting U.S. military “war games” with ally South Korea while negotiations between the two countries continue.

Trump cast the decision as a cost-saving measure, but North Korea has long objected to the drills as a security threat.

Trump also says Kim has committed to denuclearizing his country, but details of how that will happen and be verified have yet to be hashed out.

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4:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he had planned to place another 300 sanctions on North Korea recently, but he held off because it would be “disrespectful” ahead of the meeting.

Trump said Tuesday at a news conference in Singapore following his summit with Kim Jong Un that the U.S. will remove the sanctions already in place when they’re assured that the nuclear weapons “are no longer a factor.”

He also says that it takes “a long time to pull off complete denuclearization” but that he will push for North Korea to remove its nuclear weapons as fast as it can “mechanically and physically” be done.

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4:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the remains of U.S. prisoners of war and those missing in action during the Korean War will be returned.

Trump said during a news conference Tuesday after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore that he asked Kim to commit to returning the remains “and we got it.”

The president says he had received “countless calls” and letters from family members asking him to help them receive the remains of their loved ones.

Trump says, “The remains will be coming back. They’re going to start that process immediately.”

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4:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he’ll invite North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit the White House at the “appropriate time.” And he says Kim has accepted.

Trump also says he is open to visiting Kim some day in Pyongyang.

Trump is speaking at a press conference Tuesday after a day of meetings with Kim in Singapore.

It was the first time a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader had met face to face.

Trump praised Kim, calling him “very talented” and pointing to his rise to power at a relatively young age. He also said the U.S. would be ending its joint military exercises with South Korea.

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4:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is destroying a major missile engine testing site.

Trump says Kim informed him of this development during the historic nuclear summit they held Tuesday in Singapore.

Trump did not give a location for the testing site.

He says the details about the site being destroyed were not included in the joint declaration the leaders signed after nearly five hours of talks because they agreed to it after the document was signed.

Trump says destruction of the site is a “big thing.”

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4:40 p.m.

President Donald Trump is defending his repeated praise of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un during their meetings in spite of Kim’s distressing record on human rights.

Trump told reporters at a press conference in Singapore on Tuesday that Kim “is very talented.” He pointed to Kim’s rise to power at a relatively young age.

Trump has appeared largely unconcerned about the implications of feting an authoritarian leader suspected of ordering the public assassination of his half brother with a nerve agent, executing his uncle by firing squad and killing U.S. college student Otto Warmbier.

But Trump says without Warmbier’s death, his meeting with Kim may not have happened. He says, “Otto did not die in vain.”

Trump says human rights did come up during the talks, albeit briefly.

Trump says he believes Kim wants to do the right thing.

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4:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he will be ending joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea.

Trump made the announcement Tuesday at a news conference in Singapore after his historic meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has long objected to the annual exercises, viewing them as practice for future military action against the North by the United States.

Trump cast his decision as a financial consideration, saying the U.S. will save a lot of money by canceling the drills.

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4:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump is thanking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “for taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people” after the leaders’ historic Singapore summit.

Trump said at a news conference Tuesday after meeting face to face with Kim that “real change is indeed possible.”

He also says that he’s prepared “to start a new history” and “write a new chapter” between the two nations.

He says, “The past does not have to define the future.”

Trump held a news conference in Singapore before returning home.

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4:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he gave North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a video that laid out the opportunities of their historic meeting.

Reporters were shown the video before the start of Trump’s news conference Tuesday. The video resembled a preview of a film. It shows images of warplanes and artillery and says there can “only be two results,” one of moving back or moving forward.

The video shows the two leaders and raises the questions: “What if history can be changed? Will the world embrace this change?”

The president says he gave the video “to Chairman Kim and his people.”

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4:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump is finally revealing that he spoke directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of their Singapore summit.

Trump said in an interview Tuesday with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he’d spoken with Kim and others before the summit.

Trump had dodged the question for weeks, refusing to answer reporters who asked about their contact.

During a visit to Mar-a-Lago in April, Trump told a reporter that he had spoken with Kim personally, but an aide quickly walked back the statement, saying it was other officials who’d spoken with Kim.

It was later revealed that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had traveled to Pyongyang to meet with Kim.

Trump is describing his day with Kim as “very intense.” He says he believes Kim wants to get denuclearization “done” and says he trusts Kim.

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3:50 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has spoken with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts after President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Pompeo tweeted shortly after the summit ended Tuesday that he’d telephoned South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono. The State Department released a photograph of Pompeo on the phone.

Pompeo says on Twitter he provided the diplomats with “a brief readout of today’s meeting” between Trump and Kim. The two leaders concluded their summit by signing a document in which Trump pledged “security guarantees” to the North and Kim reiterated his commitment to “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

The State Department is declining to release any additional information about the calls.

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3:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un have concluded an extraordinary nuclear summit by signing a document in which Trump pledged “security guarantees” to the North and Kim reiterated his commitment to “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Light on specifics, the document largely amounted to an agreement to continue discussions as it reiterated previous public statements and past commitments. It did not include an agreement to take steps toward ending the technical state of warfare between the U.S. and North Korea.

The pair promised in the document to “build a lasting and stable peace regime” on the Korean Peninsula and to repatriate remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action during the Korean War.

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2:05 a.m.

President Donald Trump is praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “very worthy, very smart negotiator” on behalf of his people as the two leaders bid each other farewell after their historic summit.

Trump was asked by reporters in Singapore during his final appearance with Kim on Tuesday what surprised him most during their meetings.

Trump says Kim has a “great personality” and is “very smart. Good combination.”

Trump also says he learned Kim is “a very talented man” and “loves his country very much.”

He’s wrapping up the summit by saying the two had “a terrific day” and “learned a lot about each other and about our countries.”

He says he expects they’ll meet again many times.

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1:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he “absolutely” would invite North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the White House.

After Kim and Trump signed what Trump called a “pretty comprehensive” document, Trump was asked about a possible invitation. Trump said “absolutely, I would” invite Kim.

Before Tuesday’s summit in Singapore, Trump had dangled the prospect of a White House visit for Kim.

Both leaders characterized the document they signed as historic though neither provided details. Trump said the details would come later.

Trump and Kim commented as they closed a historic first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a leader of North Korea.

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1:50 a.m.

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have signed what Trump says is a “very important” and “pretty comprehensive” document.

But Trump is refusing to tell reporters what the declaration says. The document is set to be handed out to reporters later.

Trump said Tuesday as the leaders wrapped up their historic summit in Singapore that he and Kim “have developed a very special bond” during their day together.

And he says, “Both sides are going to be impressed with the result.”

Kim told reporters that “the world will see a major change,” though it’s unclear how.

The summit marked the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

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1 a.m.

President Donald Trump has given North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a rare peek inside the U.S. presidential limousine.

As the two leaders strolled around the grounds of the Singapore resort where they’re having their summit Tuesday, they walked up to the U.S. limousine nicknamed The Beast.

Trump can be seen talking and gesturing before a Secret Service agent opens the door and the leaders look in.

It wasn’t immediately clear how Kim felt about the presidential tour, but he seemed to be smiling.

Trump says he and Kim will be signing a document shortly, but he declined to specify what that document would say.

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12:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will be signing a document shortly.

Trump declined to specify what exactly the leaders would be signing.

Trump said after emerging from hours of talks with Kim on Tuesday in Singapore that “we’re going right now for a signing.”

Asked what he’d be signing, Trump said: “We’re going to be announcing that in a couple of minutes.”

Trump also said that the meeting was “going great” and that they had made “a lot of progress.” He says he thinks it was “better than anybody could imagine.”

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12:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump says his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went “better than anybody could imagine.”

The leaders emerged from a working lunch and strolled together down a paved walkway Tuesday before stopping and posing before the waiting news media.

Trump said the meeting is “going great. We had a really fantastic meeting.”

He added that there has been “a lot of progress. Really very positive. I think better than anybody could imagine.”

The working lunch was the final official event scheduled for the leaders before they go their separate ways.

Trump is scheduled to address the press corps and then begin the journey back to Washington.

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12:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump joked about his appearance as he prepared to sit down to lunch with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Trump said to photographers at Tuesday’s summit in Singapore: “Getting a good picture, everybody? So we look nice and handsome and thin? Perfect.”

A video feed provided by the summit host showed Trump, Kim and their aides taking their places at a long table. Salad courses were prepositioned on the table along with flower bouquets.

Trump took his spot in the middle of the table, and Kim opposite him. Trump was joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and a few other aides.

The lunch menu includes beef short ribs, sweet and sour crispy pork, and braised codfish.

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12:15 a.m.

The White House has restricted journalists’ access to parts of President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite long-standing arrangements intended to ensure the public is kept fully abreast of key presidential moments.

Under standard rules agreed to by the White House and the press corps, a full pool of reporters travels with the president at all times and is allowed at any meetings where press access in granted. The group includes media representatives who then pool the information they gather with other news outlets that couldn’t attend.

During the photo-op at the start of Trump’s one-on-one meeting with Kim, text reporters for newswires The Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg were kept out of the pool, as were the designated representatives for radio and the foreign press corps.

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12:05 a.m.

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have started a working lunch meeting in Singapore.

A video feed provided by the host of the summit showed Trump, Kim and their aides walking into a room and taking their places at a long table. Salad courses were prepositioned on the table along with flower bouquets.

Trump took his spot in the middle of the table, and Kim opposite him. Trump was joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and a few other aides.

Independent journalists covering Trump’s summit were not allowed in to witness the start of the lunch in Singapore.

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11:45 a.m.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says he “hardly slept” in anticipation of the United States-North Korea summit in Singapore.

Moon and other officials watched the live broadcast of the summit before a South Korean Cabinet meeting in his presidential office Tuesday.

Moon smiled and nodded as he watched President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un meet.

Moon has met Kim twice in recent months and helped arrange the U.S.-North Korean summit.

Moon said he “ardently aspires” for the success of the summit and hopes it brings complete denuclearization and peace to the Korean Peninsula.

Fighting in the Korean War ended with an armistice in July 1953. That armistice has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war.

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11:35 a.m.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman says all the pressure is on President Donald Trump in the historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Rodman told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it’s up to Trump to prove he can be trusted by Kim and the North Korean people. The basketball Hall of Famer says it will take multiple visits for the countries to have any hope of a peaceful relationship.

Rodman joked that he should be pushing for the Nobel Peace Prize, or “at least give me a piece of it.” He struck up an unlikely friendship with Kim over their shared love of basketball and has visited North Korea several times but had no official role in the summit.

Rodman says he expects to meet with Trump after the summit.

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11:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are set to chat over a lunch of beef short ribs, sweet and sour crispy pork, and braised codfish.

Details released by the White House show that lunch will begin Tuesday with a prawn cocktail and avocado salad, and green mango kerabu with honey lime dressing and octopus.

Side dishes included potato dauphinois, steamed broccolini, fried rice and Asian vegetables.

Dessert included dark chocolate tartlet and Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream.

Among those joining the leaders on the U.S. side were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton. The North Korean delegation included Kim Yong Chol, a top aide to Kim Jong Un who recently met Trump at the White House.

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10:30 a.m.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman says he received a call from the White House ahead of President Donald Trump’s historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Rodman told CNN from Singapore on Tuesday that a White House staffer called the former “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant to tell him the president was proud of him.

Rodman struck up an unlikely friendship with Kim over their shared love of basketball, but he says former President Barack Obama never took him seriously.

Rodman described Kim as a “big kid” who wants to see the world. The former basketball player was very emotional in the interview, openly weeping as he spoke.

Rodman is in town for the summit, but the White House had said he will play no official role.

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10:10 a.m.

President Donald Trump is sounding optimistic about his ability to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program after a lengthy one-on-one meeting with leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump said Tuesday at the beginning of expanded discussions with aides from both countries that “We will solve a big problem” and “a big dilemma.”

He talked about the pair achieving “tremendous success together” and predicts that “it will be successful. It will be done.”

It was hard to hear the president and Kim over the constant clicking of camera shutters, and it remains unclear precisely what he was referring to.

But Kim appeared to echo the president’s optimism.

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9:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump says that his one-on-one meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “very, very good” and that the two have an “excellent relationship.”

Trump and Kim met for about 40 minutes Tuesday one-on-one, joined only by interpreters.

Trump made the comments as he and Kim walked together along balcony as they headed to a larger meeting with aides.

Trump was flanked in the larger meeting by chief of staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton. They sat across the table from Kim and his team.

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9:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump is predicting that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will have “a terrific relationship” as they meet face to face for the first time.

Trump said Tuesday after meeting Kim that he’s feeling “really great.” He says, “We’re going to have a great discussion and a terrific relationship.”

Kim says through an interpreter that it “was not easy to get here” and that there “were obstacles but we overcame them to be here.”

The two men are expected to meet on their own for the better part of an hour, with only a pair of interpreters in the room.

That decision has raised concerns about the risk of holding such a monumental meeting with barely anyone to bear witness.

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9:05 a.m.

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are sharing a historic handshake as they meet for the first time.

The two clasped hands for a long while Tuesday as they posed for photos in front of a row of U.S. and North Korean flags. Trump then directed Kim to walk down a hallway, where they briefly spoke.

It’s the first ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader.

Trump and Kim arrived not long ago on Singapore’s Sentosa Island, the site of their unprecedented summit. It’s aimed at settling a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.

The two will huddle alone for roughly 45 minutes before being joined by aides for a larger meeting and working lunch.

Trump has said he’ll know within minutes whether a deal can be made.

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8:35 a.m.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived at Singapore’s Sentosa Island, where he’ll be meeting shortly face-to-face with President Donald Trump.

The two men are expected to share a handshake before they meet alone with a pair of interpreters for roughly 45 minutes while their entourages wait nearby.

After the intimate huddle, they’re scheduled to hold a larger meeting and working lunch. Trump’s chief of staff, national security adviser and secretary of state are among those expected to join.

The meeting is the first sit-down between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader and is meant to settle a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

Trump earlier defended his decision to meet with Kim, tweeting that North Korea has already released three detainees and that missile tests have halted.

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8:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump has arrived on Singapore’s Sentosa Island for his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump’s motorcade pulled into the grounds of the Capella Hotel at 8:13 a.m. Tuesday local time.

He is scheduled to meet Kim for the first time at 9 a.m.

Kim is also en route to Sentosa Island for the meeting to discuss the fate of his country’s nuclear weapons arsenal.

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8:15 a.m.

Kim Jong Un’s entourage has left for the luxury Singapore island resort where the North Korean leader will meet with President Donald Trump.

Kim’s black armored limousine with two large North Korean flags was surrounded Tuesday by police vehicles, their lights flashing, and other black cars.

There’s excitement surrounding the summit but also skepticism that the North will relinquish a nuclear weapons program it spent decades building despite crushing sanctions.

Kim and Trump are scheduled to meet alone, with their interpreters, after greeting each other at the resort.

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7:50 a.m.

North Korea’s state media has reported on Kim Jong Un’s late-night tour of Singapore with unusual speed.

Pyongyang’s official Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday filled its front page with photos of his visits to Singapore’s landmarks, including the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands resort.

The North’s Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as saying that Singapore is “clean and beautiful and every building is stylish” and that he will learn “a lot from the good knowledge and experience of Singapore in various fields in the future.”

It’s rare that security-obsessed North Korea reports on Kim’s activities within hours. When Kim visited China for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping in March and May, state media didn’t report on the trips until after he returned home.

Some experts say North Korea is trying to keep up with the speed of the Western media in Singapore.

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7:05 a.m.

President Donald Trump is sitting down with Fox News host Sean Hannity after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Fox News says the interview will take place Tuesday at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore. Trump and Kim are set to meet on Sentosa Island on Tuesday morning for roughly 45 minutes while their entourages wait nearby.

The interview is set to air on Fox’s “Hannity” at 9 p.m. Tuesday on the U.S. East Coast, which is 9 a.m. Wednesday in Singapore.

Fox News says Trump will talk about the meeting with Kim and future relations between the two countries.

Hannity is a friend and confidant of the president and speaks out in support of Trump on his show.

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6:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump says the “haters & losers” are complaining that his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is a “major loss,” but he notes that the U.S. has gotten its three captives returned and that the North’s nuclear missile launches have stopped.

Trump tweeted early Tuesday from Singapore, just hours before his face-to-face with Kim.

He says, “The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the U.S., say the haters & losers.” But he says “our hostages” are back home and testing, research and launches have stopped.

He says, “These pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say!”

Critics have argued that Kim has notched a win by getting a sit-down with the U.S. president.

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5:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump says “we will all know soon” whether he can reach a deal with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to end its nuclear program.

Trump is tweeting hours before the leaders’ historic face-to-face that, “Meetings between staffs and representatives are going well and quickly.”

But he says that, “in the end, that doesn’t matter. We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!”

Before leaving Washington for Singapore, Trump said his gut instincts will guide him when he gets into the room with Kim.

He told reporters he’ll know almost immediately whether a deal can be made, saying: “I will know, just my touch, my feel. That’s what I do.”

Their meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Singapore time.