Trump, Kim arrive for historic summit

SINGAPORE — President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived for their historic summit on Tuesday, balancing the elusive promise of peace against the specter of a growing nuclear threat.

Yet even before they met, Trump announced plans to leave early, raising questions about whether his aspirations for an ambitious outcome had been scaled back.

Trump arrived first at the summit site on Singapore’s Sentosa Island in advance of the 9 a.m. meeting. Kim’s black armored limousine pulled in a short time later at the luxury resort for the world’s first meeting between a sitting United States president and a North Korean leader.

The two were to open with a handshake, an image sure to be devoured from Washington to Pyongyang and beyond. Trump and Kim planned to meet one-on-one for most of an hour— joined only by translators. Then aides to each were to come in for more discussions and a working lunch.

Up early in Singapore, Trump tweeted with cautious optimism: “Meetings between staffs and representatives are going well and quickly … but 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!”   /kga