Live updates: North Korean leader and US president meet at landmark summit in Singapore.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have met in Singapore.

Here are all the latest developments:

NATO welcomes US-North Korea summit, backs denuclearised peninsula

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    NATO has applauded President Donald Trump’s meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a historic summit.

  • Jens Stoltenberg, the military alliance’s secretary general, called for a Korean peninsula free from nuclear weapons.
  • “NATO welcomes the historic summit. NATO strongly supports all efforts leading towards the eventual denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” Stoltenberg said.

Japan’s Abe lauds Kim denuclearisation pledge

  • Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has praised Kim’s promise to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons.
  • “There is great meaning in chairman Kim’s clearly confirming to President Trump the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” Abe told reporters after speaking to the US president about the historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore.
  • Abe also said they would require the strong support of the US to resolve the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.

UN boss urges support for US-North Korea agreement

  • Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, called on the international community to offer support on carrying out the agreement on steps toward denuclearisation between the United States and North Korea.
  • “Implementing today’s and previous agreements reached, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, will require patience and support from the global community,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Al Jazeera’s James Bays on the significance of the deal

  • Our correspondent says the agreement between the US is significant but should not be considered a comprehensive deal
  • You can read his full article here.

South Korea wants clarity after Trump comments

  • The presidential office said on Tuesday that it needs to seek clarity on US President Donald Trump’s intentions are after he said Washington will stop joint military exercises.
  • Trump made the remarks after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.
  • “At this point, we need to find out the precise meaning or intentions of President Trump’s remarks,” a spokesman said.

US military forces have not received directions to stop joint drills

  • A spokesperson made the remarks after Trump said war games would be ended.
  • “In coordination with our ROK partners, we will continue with our current military posture until we receive updated guidance from the Department of Defense (DoD) and/or Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM),” said Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Lovett.

S Korea’s Moon vows to write ‘new history’ with N Korea

  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed to write a “new history” with North Korea, praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s decision to hold a summit with the US in Singapore.
  • “Leaving dark days of war and conflict behind, we will write a new chapter of peace and cooperation,” Moon said in a statement released by his office. “We will be there together with North Korea along the way.”

Russia: ‘Devil in the detail’

  • Russia has a positive assessment of the deal between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but “the devil is in the detail”, TASS news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Tuesday.
  • “Now, we can only welcome the fact that an important step forward has been made. Of course, the devil is in the detail, and we have yet to delve into specifics. But the impulse, as far as we understand, has been given,” Ryabkov said.
  • Russia is ready to assist in implementing the deal – to work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula – and hopes settling the nuclear crisis will unblock normal economic cooperation, RIA news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.
  • He also said Moscow hoped that six-party talks – a negotiation format involving the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and China – will at some point become relevant again, according to TASS.

Iran warns Kim Trump might nullify deal

  • The Iranian government has warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that US President Donald Trump could nullify a nuclear deal with North Korea.
  • “We are facing a man who revokes his signature while abroad,” the Fars news agency quoted government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht as saying.
  • Last week, Trump withdrew his backing for a joint G7 statement en route to Singapore after he was enraged by statements by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trump press conference ends

  • US President Donald Trump has wrapped up the press conference. He is expected to fly back to the US in a few hours time.
  • Speaking about the criticism that the joint statement is “thin on detail”, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said, “I don’t think anyone listening to this last hour has a better understanding of that.” She added that the president emphasised that a lot that was agreed to was not reflected in the signed agreement.
  • Speaking from Seoul, Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay said Trump “has some explaining to do” to President Moon Jae-in about his announcement that the US would pull out of war games with South Korea. “It seems that there was no discussion about this, as far as we know, publicly anyway,” Hay said. During the conference, Trump said he would call Moon afterwards.

White House releases Kim-Trump statement

  • The White House has released the full text of the joint statement signed by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Here’s the full text:

“President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a first, historic summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un conducted a comprehensive, in-depth, and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new U.S.–DPRK relations and the building of a lasting and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Convinced that the establishment of new U.S.–DPRK relations will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and of the world, and recognizing that mutual confidence building can promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un state the following:

  1. The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new U.S.–DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
  2. The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
  3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
  4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

Having acknowledged that the U.S.–DPRK summit—the first in history—was an epochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries and for the opening up of a new future, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un commit to implement the stipulations in this joint statement fully and expeditiously. The United States and the DPRK commit to hold follow-on negotiations, led by the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and a relevant high-level DPRK official, at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes of the U.S.–DPRK summit.

President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have committed to cooperate for the development of new U.S.–DPRK relations and for the promotion of peace, prosperity, and security of the Korean Peninsula and of the world.

DONALD J. TRUMP
President of the United States of America

KIM JONG UN
Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

June 12, 2018
Sentosa Island
Singapore”

Trump: Kim reaffirmed ‘unwavering commitment’ to denuclearisation in ‘honest, direct, productive’ meeting

  • US President Donald Trump said North Korea leader Kim Jong-un “reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” in a meeting which he described as “honest, direct and productive”.
  • Trump spoke at a news conference after signing a joint agreement with Kim.
  • Asked if the “security assurances” for North Korea that the US committed to in the statement included a reduction of US troops from South Korea, Trump said that’s “not part of the equation right now” though “at some point”, he said he wants to “bring our soldiers back home”. He added: “We will be stopping the war games”.
  • The US President said sanctions will remain in effect until North Korea has lived up to its commitments. He also said he halted plans for 300 sanctions designations last week because it would have been “disrespectful” to impose them.
  • Human rights were discussed, Trump said. “It will be discussed more in the future,” he added.
  • Trump also said he will travel to Pyongyang “at a certain time” and he will also invite Kim to the White House “at an appropriate time”. He said Kim had accepted the invitation.
  • Trump said Kim “wants to do what’s right” and thanked the North Korean leader for taking “the first bold steps towards a bright new future for his people”.
  • Negotiations to implement the agreement would take place “as soon as possible”, Trump said. “I know for a fact as soon as [Kim] arrives [in North Korea] he’s going to start a process that’s going to make a lot of people very happy and very safe,” Trump said.
  • Trump said North Korea is already destroying a “major missile engine testing site”. “That’s not in your signed document, we agreed to that after the agreement was signed,” the president explained.
  • Asked how he could be certain North Korea’s commitments amounted to more than “all talk no action”, Trump said “you can’t ensure anything. All I can say is that they want a deal”. He added: “I just feel very strongly, my instinct, my ability or talent – they want to make a deal.”
  • Trump said he would probably need another summit or meeting with Kim.
  • Talking about the potential for economic development of North Korea, Trump praised the country’s beaches. “I said to [Kim], you could have the greatest hotels in the world,” Trump told reporters.

Trump and Kim sign agreement after historic summit

  • US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have signed a joint statement at the end of their landmark summit. Trump is expected to give a press conference at 16:00 local time (08:00 GMT).
  • If you’re just joining us and need to catch up, read the latest news report by Tom Benner from Singapore.

Analysts voice disappointment with joint statement text

  • Analysts have expressed disappointment at the joint statement which US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed at the end of their landmark summit.
  • Basing himself on a photograph of the text, Malcolm Cook, a fellow at the Lowy Institute in Australia, said the text leaves “many questions unanswered, not so many answered”.
  • “It’s pretty hard to be comprehensive in only one page,” he told Al Jazeera’s James Bays. “There was no mention of verifiable, no mention of the word irreversible and no discussion of when US economic sanctions would go off,” Cook said.
  • “North Korea has promised many times to work towards complete denuclearisation,” he added.
  • In a Tweet, political analyst Robert Kelly called the outcome of the summit “depressing”.

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