Kim Jong Un takes pre-summit stroll in Singapore as Dennis Rodman flies in
North Korea's leader visited a hotel-casino as the retired basketball player, a long-time friend of Mr Kim, landed in the country.
Monday 11 June 2018 23:56, UK
A smiling Kim Jong Un has been pictured enjoying a late-night stroll in Singapore ahead of his landmark meeting with Donald Trump.
The North Korean dictator was surrounded by heavy security as he visited the luxury Marina Bay Sands hotel-casino.
His powerful sister Kim Yo Jong, who Mr Kim promoted to his regime's top decision-making body in October 2017, was also pictured outside the hotel.
They walked through Singapore hours before the retired NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman, a long-time friend of the North Korean leader, landed in the country.
He told reporters at Changi Airport that he expected the summit to "go fairly well" but that "people should not expect too much for the first time".
Rodman continued: "I'm just happy to be a part of it."
The eccentric sportsman will not play any direct role in the talks, and added that he was unsure if he would get to meet Mr Kim on his trip.
Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan tweeted a selfie of himself with Mr Kim hours before the historic meeting.
On Tuesday morning, Mr Kim will become the first North Korean leader to meet a sitting US president.
The summit will take place at 9am local time (2am BST) at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa.
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said Mr Trump's "ultimate objective" will be the "irreversible" denuclearisation of Mr Kim's regime.
He sounded an upbeat tone and said preparatory talks were "moving quite rapidly".
The president's most senior expert on weapons of mass destruction has joined him in Singapore for the summit.
Sky News' Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire said Mr Kim has already made clear he is seeking economic development from the negotiations.
He said: "Kim's nuclear arsenal might appear to give him a position of strength but the reality is more precarious.
"He must deliver economic growth to preserve his rule.
"But opening up will also bring its own pressures on the regime."
Mr Trump declared he was on a "mission of peace" before he left the G7 summit early to head to Singapore.
He told reporters he would "know within a minute" whether Mr Kim was serious about giving up his nuclear weapons.
Mr Trump enjoyed a working lunch with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday, during which he was presented with an early birthday cake.
The US president turns 72 on Thursday.
The summit on Tuesday will take place weeks after the US president called it off in May.
He met with a senior North Korean official at the White House on 1 June and later announced the meeting was back on.