Singapore: Security tight ahead of Trump-Kim summit

Changi [Singapore], June 11 (ANI): The security has been further tightened in Singapore following the arrival of United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to participate in the 'historic summit' on June 12.

As reported by the Yonhap News agency, Singapore is witnessing a stronger police presence, stringent security checks, and roadblocks are around the area where the two leaders are expected to meet. This area has been designated by Singaporean authorities as 'special event areas'.

The area includes the summit venue, Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island and the places around Shangri-La Hotel and the St. Regis Hotel where Trump and Kim are expected to stay, respectively.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump's Air Force One landed at Paya Lebar Air Base in the central east of Singapore after undertaking a 17-hour long flight from Quebec Canada where he attended the G7 summit.

Later, Kim's plane landed at Changi airport.

Apart from the presence of the two global leaders in Singapore, the reason behind putting a heightened security in place is also that Kim faces a massive amount of global criticism due to his high-handed regime and records of human rights abuse.

The summit, which was on a brink of being canceled multiple times, may bring a certain amount of diplomatic and political benefits for both leaders.

Trump, who is going to face the elections in 2020, will be able to tout this summit as a big victory under his presidency.

On the other side, for Kim sharing a common platform with the US president is itself a landmark as previously the US leaders have avoided doing so.

This summit, which was earlier expected to be about talks around North Korean denuclearisation, may now be just about the two leaders "meeting each other" as was said by Trump in a press conference at Charlevoix in Quebec where the G7 summit took place. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI