- President Donald Trump will depart Singapore earlier than expected after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set a deadline for their highly anticipated summit on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.
- Kim is scheduled to depart Singapore seven hours after his meeting with Trump is set to begin.
- Trump was open to staying in Singapore longer in case things went well and North Korea wanted to continue the discussion, but he moved up his departure time after finding out when Kim was leaving, the report says.
President Donald Trump will depart Singapore earlier than expected after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set a deadline of sorts for their highly anticipated summit, Bloomberg reported, citing a US official.
Kim is expected to depart from Singapore on Tuesday around 4 p.m. local time (4 a.m. ET), roughly seven hours after the summit is set to begin, Bloomberg said.
That would offer a fairly limited amount of time to discuss the breadth of issues on the table, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the Trump administration’s ultimate goal in terms of negotiations with North Korea.
That said, in recent days the White House has emphasized that Tuesday’s meeting will be the first step in a broader process. On Saturday, Trump said he’d know “within the first minute” whether Kim will agree to denuclearization.
Reports have indicated that Trump was open to staying in Singapore longer in case things went well and North Korea wanted to continue the discussion. But he's now scheduled to depart at 7 p.m. local time, just a few hours after Kim, Bloomberg said.
After a photo op early Tuesday, Trump and Kim are set to have a one-on-one meeting in which they will be accompanied by only translators. There will then be a bilateral meeting including some of Trump's top advisers, followed by a working lunch.
More on the Trump-Kim summit:
- Who will be in the room when Trump meets Kim Jong Un
- Kim Jong Un has a massive advantage over Trump in the talks - but he could turn it against China
- We asked South Koreans what they think will come out of the Trump-Kim summit, and they were surprisingly optimistic
- Opinion: 6 critical questions we need to ask about the Trump-Kim summit before calling it a success or failure
- Kim Jong Un's high school teacher says the North Korean leader probably knows English and just pretends not to
- Trump and Kim Jong Un are staying in hotels less than a half-mile apart, and this map shows how they're basically neighbors
- Kim Jong Un's internet-famous bodyguards have been seen jogging in formation around his car in Singapore - here's everything we know about them
- Analysis: Trump is pushing for North Korea's denuclearization, but Kim has his own agenda
- Dennis Rodman arrives in Singapore ahead of the Trump-Kim summit
- Kim Jong Un poses for what appears to be his first-ever public selfie
- Kim Jong Un is getting cheered like a rock star on a night out in Singapore