Barry Soper: Devil in the detail as Trump and Kim sign historic deal

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greet each other with the American and North Korean flags as a backdrop at the Capella resort in Singapore. Photo / AP

They came, they shook hands, initially with little emotion, they talked, they dined and they finally returned to their hotels sated, not just with the five-star lunch they had consumed, but with being global superstars, even if some would say they're still punk rockers.

Just a couple of months ago this summit in Singapore looked doubtful, such were the sensitivities of the two men taking part. It all hinged on Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un keeping their cool - and they did.

On a personal front it may have been a bad hair day for both but on the diplomatic front it was a doozie for detente.

The President, as always, was aware of the image he was portraying, at one point asking a photographer whether he was getting a good pic, adding he wanted them to look nice and handsome, beautiful and perfect. That was an impossible request, certainly even more difficult to achieve than the only one that really matters. But rather than yelling obscenities at each other they're finally talking and hopefully we'll all eventually start feeling a little more secure.

The outcomes to a lot of these sorts of meetings are scripted in advance. However on this one, given the volatile nature of the two participants, that was never going to be easy.

Still, the signing of a document pledging to work towards denuclearising the Korean Peninsula is obviously heading in the right direction - but the devil will be in the detail.

The devil down the track could well be China and how it would feel about the possibility of a greater American presence in the region. It was obviously negotiated well before the summit but would have depended on how the two former protagonists got on.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump shake hands. Photo / AP

So the signing was a rehearsed showcase event to top off what was obviously a historic day. But it's from here that the real talking starts.

This was the most unusual meeting of two of the most unusual leaders of modern times and there was little conventional about it. The fact that these two men were on their own for the first 40 minutes accompanied only by their interpreters was highly unusual for such a significant event.

The talks with officials lined up on either side of the two leaders that followed obviously was more about where to from here and what will be involved. The Americans' insistence on the cessation of North Korea's nuclear programme that was begun by Kim's dictatorial grandfather Kim Jong Sung was always their bottom line.

And from the North Korean side, Kim wants more prosperity for his dirt-poor country, largely made that way because of the money that's been poured into its nuclear programme.

He got a taste of that prosperity on a night out in Singapore, which took him to the weird passenger liner structure draped across three high rises that tops the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

So Trump returns to Washington feeling good about himself to celebrate his birthday on Thursday and Kim returns to Pyongyang dreaming about what the wealth of the West is capable of delivering - providing he can keep the devil in check.

That will be his biggest test.