North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump have arrived in Singapore ahead of a historic summit over the future of Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal.
Mr Trump flew into Singapore's Paya Lebar Air Base aboard Air Force One, looking to lay the groundwork for a nuclear deal with one of America's most bitter long-time foes, directly following his divisive meeting in Canada with some of Washington's closest allies that further strained global trade ties.
After a 20-hour journey from Canada, Mr Trump was received at the air base by Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Asked by a reporter how he was feeling about the summit, Mr Trump said: "Very good." He then got into his waiting limousine.
Mr Trump's arrival came just hours after Mr Kim.
The North Korean leader landed in the ultra-modern city-state on his longest trip overseas as head of state.
Mr Kim met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shortly after his arrival, driving from the St Regis Hotel where he is staying, through the famous Orchard Road shopping district, which was closed off for his tightly guarded motorcade.
Bodyguards in dark suits jogged alongside his limousine.
At the hotel lobby, North Korean security guards warned other hotel guests not to take pictures as Mr Kim walked to his Mercedes Benz limousine.
When a couple of guests took a picture, a North Korean official stormed up to them, demanding to check their phones.
"I saw them taking a photo of our chairman. How dare they do so, they shouldn't," the official told Reuters later. He declined to be identified. Under the watchful eye of the official, and St Regis staff, one male guest deleted hisphotos.
In his first public comments since arriving, Mr Kim said Singapore's role would be recorded in history if the summit was a success.
Mr Trump, who is staying in a separate hotel, the Shangri-La, is due to meet Mr Lee tomorrow.
The US President and Mr Kim are due to meet on Tuesday on the resort island of Sentosa for their high-stakes summit, the first-ever talks between a US and North Korean leader and the culmination of a head-spinning diplomatic dance.
Such a meeting was unthinkable just months ago when Mr Trump and Mr Kim were exchanging insults and threats that raised fears of war in the region.
But a series of diplomatic overtures involving North Korea, South Korea and the United States reduced tensions and led Mr Trump in March to quickly accept Mr Kim’s invitation to meet.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The US president initially touted the potential for a grand bargain with North Korea to rid itself of a nuclear missile programme that has advanced rapidly to threaten the United States, insisting he would swiftly achieve what previous US administrations have failed to do.
But he has since lowered expectations, saying the talks would be more about starting a relationship with Mr Kim for a negotiating process that would take more than one summit.
This has included backing away from an original demand for North Korea's swift denuclearisation.
Mr Kim has given little sign of any willingness to dismantle his nuclear programme, which experts believe he sees as vital to the survival of his family's dynastic rule.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said US and North Korean officials would hold working-level talks tomorrow.
She said the US delegation would be led by Sung Kim, a veteran diplomat who recently held talks with North Korean officials.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said tomorrow's meeting appeared aimed at making 11th-hour progress ahead of the summit since Sung Kim's earlier talks did little to narrow a gap between the two sides on the definition of denuclearisation or win agreement on tangible commitments from Pyongyang toward dismantling its nuclear arsenal.
Mr Trump and his aides have insisted that a US-led "maximum pressure" campaign of the toughest-ever economic sanctions, diplomatic action and military threats is what has drawn the North Korean leader to the negotiating table.
Mr Trump has frequently boasted of his negotiating prowess as a former real estate developer, and his ability to read people, even though his businesses have declared multiple bankruptcies.
He said on Thursday that he did not think he had to prepare very much for the summit and that "it's about attitude." But some US officials have questioned whether he was doing enough to get up to speed.
Mr Trump told reporters in Canada on Saturday any agreement with Mr Kim would be "spur of the moment," underscoring the uncertain outcome of what he called a "mission of peace."
That came as Mr Trump threw the G7's efforts to show a united front into disarray after he became angry with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and said he might double down on import tariffs by hitting the sensitive auto industry.
Mr Trump's bombshell announcement that he was backing out of the G7 communiqué, made after he left the summit in Canada early, torpedoed what appeared to be a fragile consensus on the trade dispute between Washington and its top allies.
