How it happened: Historic moment as Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un meet, sign document working 'toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula'
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump sign the document in Singapore. Photo / AP
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump sign the document in Singapore. Photo / AP
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have signed a joint document in which they commit to working "toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."
The pair made history with a handshake and a one-on-one meeting before signing an unspecified document in Singapore.
The discussions at a secluded island resort off the coast of Singapore gave both a chance to size each other up and start discussions that could open the door to negotiations on denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
A joint declaration signed by President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the US has committed to providing "security guarantees" to the North.
The document signed at the end of the pair's historic summit in Singapore on Tuesday also says Kim "reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."
It's unclear exactly what Trump has promised Kim in terms of security.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to say yesterday whether guarantees might include withdrawing US troops from the Korean Peninsula.
A copy of the text snapped by a photographer at the signing summit says Trump and Kim also discussed how to build "a lasting and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula" in their talks.
6:50pm
President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have signed a joint document in which they commit to working "toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."
The document signed by the leaders at their historic summit Tuesday also says they will join efforts "to build a lasting and stable peace regime" on the Korean Peninsula.
The White House has yet to release the document's text. But it was photographed by the news media during a signing ceremony.
The document lays out four broad commitments.
It says the sides "commit to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity."
And it says they will commit to recovering the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Details of the contents of the agreement have not yet been oficially released.
However AFP news agency is reporting the Trump-Kim document commits the United States to "security guarantees" and eyes the establishment of "new US-DPRK relations".
It is also reporting that Kim has committed to "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" in the document.
#BREAKING Kim commits to 'complete denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula' in joint text
Kim has left the small Singapore island that was the site of his meeting with Trump.
Kim's convoy left Sentosa Island on Tuesday afternoon after he signed a document with the American president, who stayed behind at the hotel where the two leaders met.
Both leaders characterised the document they signed as historic though neither provided details.
Trump says the details would come later.
The summit was the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump shake hands after signing an agreement. Photo / AP
6:05pm
Trump is praising Kim 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 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."
Trump also said the North Korea denuclearisation process would be starting "very quickly".
Kim told reporters that "the world will see a major change," though it's unclear how.
Kim said he and Trump "decided to leave the past behind" as they signed the document.
Donald Trump shows Kim Jong Un his presidential vehicle outside the Capella resort. Photo / AP
Trump has given Kim a rare peek inside the US 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 US 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.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un walk from their lunch at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island. Photo / AP
4:55pm
Trump says he and Kim will be signing a document shortly.
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.
3:25pm
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are chatting over a lunch of beef short ribs, sweet and sour crispy pork, and braised codfish.
Details released by the White House show that lunch began 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 US 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.
Dennis Rodman described Kim Jong Un as a "big kid" who wants to see the world. Photo / AP
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman says he received a call from the White House ahead of Trump's historic meeting with Kim.
Rodman told CNN in an interview from Singapore on Tuesday that a White House staffer called the former Celebrity Apprentice contestant to tell him the president was proud of him.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the call.
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 and he expressed hope that the two leaders will make progress.
Rodman is in town for the summit, but the White House had said he will play no official role.
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump sit across the table from each other at their meeting on Sentosa Island. Photo / AP
2:10pm
Trump is sounding optimistic about his ability to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme after a lengthy one-on-one meeting with Kim.
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 US president and Kim over the constant clicking of camera shutters, and it remains unclear precisely what he was referring to.
Kim has arrived at Singapore's Sentosa Island, where he'll be meeting shortly face-to-face with 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 US 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.
North Korea's state media has reported on Kim'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.
