U.S President Trump is flying out of Canada for Singapore on Saturday morning. Photo / AP
U.S President Trump is flying out of Canada for Singapore on Saturday morning. Photo / AP
President Trump has departed the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada, and is on his way to Singapore where he will meet North Korean president Kim Jong-un later this week.
After trying to smooth over tensions with the six other leaders at the summit in Canada, Trump spoke optimistically about his looming meeting and said he believed it would go well, reports Daily Mail.
"I will be on a mission of peace and will carry in my heart the hearts of millions of people, all over the world.
"We really think North Korea will be a tremendous place in a very short period of time and we appreciate everything that's going on.
"We appreciate working together with North Korea. So far, so good. We're going to have to see what happens. I very much look forward to it," he said.
He described the meeting as a rare opportunity for Jong-un to do something "great" for his people and the world and said he felt "confident" he the talks would end well.
The U.S president spoke optimistically about the meeting which he considers to be a "one time opportunity" for Kim Jong-un to make his country "great". Photo / AP
"I really believe that he's going to do something positive for his people, for himself, for his family.
"He's got an opportunity the likes of which very few people have ever had.
"He can take that, with this nation of great people and truly make it great.
"It's a one time shot and I think it's going to work out very well," he said.
Later, he said he would know within the first "minute" of the meeting whether Jong-un would be open to complete denuclearization as is hoped.
Asked how he would be able to make such a distinction, he said: "My touch, my feel.
"That's what I do. It's like the way they say you know if you're going to like somebody in the first 5 seconds.
"You ever hear of that one? I think very quickly I'll know if something good is going to happen.
"And I'll know whether or not will happen fast. It may not. [But] if I think it won't happen, I'm not going to waste my time and I don't to waste his," he said.
Trump departed the summit early in order to fly to Singapore and is missing environmental talks as a result.
Earlier, he said he had a "clear objective" but said he knew Jong-un was unpredictable.
There is already heightened security in Singapore ahead of the meeting on June 12. Photo / Getty Images
"I have a clear objective, but I have to say - it's going to be something that will always be spur of the moment. You don't know. This has not been done before at this level. This is a leader who really is an unknown personality."
He shot down claims that he was conceding to Jong-un's dictatorship by granting him a meeting and said it had cost the US 'nothing' in negotiations so far.
"We just got the hostages back and we paid nothing. The haters say, 'Oh you're giving him a meeting.' Give me a break, OK.
"If I didn't do this, it would be...it's never been done before and obviously what has been done before hasn't worked," he said.
Preparations in Singapore are underway with intense security in the already pristine and well-maintained streets. The pair will meet on June 12 at the Capella hotel in Singapore's Sentosa Island.
Already, there is an enormous police presence all over the small country with police checkpoints set up on major roads and heightened checks at other hotels including the St Regis, where Jong-un will stay.
President Trump will stay at the Shangri-La hotel with his delegation. Accompanying him on the trip is Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State who has already been to North Korea twice this year in trips shrouded in secrecy.
The First Lady, who recently underwent a four-hour embolism procedure, will not be joining him.
There is a huge level of excitement in Singapore among locals who this week celebrated this week with Trump and Jong-un lookalikes have also been spotted hosting celebratory events.
