U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a historic summit at the Capella Hotel on Singapore's Sentosa Island on Tuesday and announced a four-point joint statement.
The two sides took their first step to settle 70 years of hostilities and build trust, thereby paving the way for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Trump and Kim both arrived in Singapore last Sunday and came face to face for talks at 9 a.m. Tuesday local time.
A one-on-one meeting was followed by an extended summit and a luncheon. The two leaders signed a joint accord at around 1:40 p.m. and President Trump held a news conference at 4 p.m. to explain the summit agreement.
Both headed home later in the evening, wrapping up the historic one-day event.
In the four-point joint statement, the two sides committed to establishing new bilateral relations and joining efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea committed to work toward the complete denuclearization of the peninsula, while in return the U.S. has promised security guarantees for the North’s regime. The two sides also agreed to recover the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action from the Korean War.
However, Washington's longstanding demand for the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization", or CVID, of North Korea's nuclear program was not stipulated in the joint accord.
Regarding this point, Trump said during the news conference following the summit that Pyongyang agreed to dismantle a missile engine test facility.
The two leaders also agreed to swiftly hold follow-on negotiations led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a high-level North Korean official to implement the summit outcome. During these talks, a concrete road map on denuclearization, including the scope and method, and ways of verification are expected to agreed upon.
Trump also said the U.S. will suspend its joint military drills with Seoul as long as the U.S. and the North were negotiating in good faith.
Kim Jong-un also accepted an invitation to visit the White House, while Trump said he could visit Pyongyang at an appropriate time.
Many critics were quick to point out the summit results fall very short in terms of CVID and the lack of details, could potentially cause difficulties in follow-on negotiations.
However, as the joint statement acknowledged, the U.S.-North Korea summit – the first in history – holds significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries and for the opening up of a new future.
Trump said the summit won’t be a one-off event and called it a “process.” Follow-up moves regarding a peace regime and formally ending the Korean War are expected to follow where South Korea’s role will become more important.