Breaking: Trump, Kim Shake Hands in Historic Singapore Meeting

Skeptics said it wouldn't happen, but it just did. For the first time ever, a U.S. President is meeting with the leader of North Korea.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un before their meeting in Singapore
Photograph: AP

SINGAPORE (AP) — President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un kicked off a momentous summit Tuesday, with Trump declaring the two would have a “great discussion” and Kim saying they had overcome “obstacles” to get to this point.

Before a row of alternating U.S. and North Korean flags, the leaders shook hands warmly at a Singapore island resort, creating an indelible image of two unorthodox leaders as they opened a conversation that could determine historic peace or raise the specter of a growing nuclear threat. (More at AP)

The Guardian newspaper (UK) is live blogging from the Trump-Kim meeting.

Recent blurbs:

(Approx 9 PM ET) - Trump and Kim shake hands in Singapore

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have met at the Capella hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore, the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

They shook hands on the steps of the hotel before cameras. By Trump’s standards it was a relatively low-key handshake, with no jerky movements, though it lasted for about 12 seconds.

Trump and Kim will first have a one-on-one talk before they are joined by advisers for talks later this morning.

So far, so good. Optimism from both sides. The world watches, hopeful.