Following news that US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive on our shores this Sunday, reports have emerged that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will, in fact, be arriving on the same day.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency announced that Kim will arrive on June 10, while an anonymous source who spoke to Reuters noted that the supreme leader is expected to fly into Changi Airport on the day. This would contrast to initial reports that both leaders will land their planes at Paya Lebar Airbase, an airbase used by the Singapore military forces.
Details of the route Kim will take to reach here remains unclear, but sources familiar to the Kim family expect the North Korean leader to fly through China’s airspace.
“Kim is also likely to fly to Singapore through China’s airspace to ensure his security, so that he gets China’s protection on his way to Singapore,” noted Lee Yun-keol, a former personal bodyguard who defected to South Korea in 2005.
South China Morning Post reported that China could very well send fighter jets to escort Kim in his travels through the country’s airspace. The supreme leader has a reputation for being paranoid about potential assassinations and will keep details of his route very close to his chest.
Trump, on the other hand, will make the 17-hour flight on Air Force One from Quebec, Canada. In what seems to be a last-minute change of plans, the US president will be ditching the second day of this year’s G7 summit to depart directly to Singapore, where he’ll land at Paya Lebar Airbase.
The US president is expected to stay at Shangri-La Hotel, while his North Korean counterpart is likely to stay at The St. Regis. They’ll meet at Capella Hotel on June 12 to talk denuclearization, among other things.
