After much speculation, the confirmed venue for the historic meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader will take place at the luxurious Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa on June 12.
President Donald Trump did want to have a glamorous location for the summit, after all — that’s probably why Mongolia was out of the race as a viable venue for the meeting.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced the location today in a tweet that also thanked the “great Singaporean hosts for their hospitality” (that’s us, you guys).
UPDATE: The venue for the Singapore summit between @POTUS and Leader Kim Jong Un will be the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island. We thank our great Singaporean hosts for their hospitality.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 5, 2018
The confirmation arrived hours after a public order was issued by the Singapore government that designated the whole island of Sentosa and its Harbourfront linkway as a “special event area” from Jun 10 to Jun 14. Extra security measures will be enforced on people and vehicles entering the area, while a smaller (and stricter) “special zone” within the island prohibits drones, flags, banners, flammable materials and other things that might disrupt the summit.
Peace and Tranquility
The Capella Hotel has been considered to be the venue for the landmark summit, thanks to the US delegation — including deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin — having made the upscale lodgings their base during ongoing discussions with their North Korean counterparts. North Korea’s state affairs commission secretariat Kim Chang Son also met Hagin at Capella after arriving in Singapore in late May to hash out details for the summit.
The hotel itself is nestled in the middle of 30 rolling acres of lawns and greenery, and boasts about being “a most pleasant paradox” for its intimate yet spacious 112 luxurious guest rooms, suites and garden villas. With a stunning view of the South China Sea, the most expensive booking goes for S$10,000 a night for a three-bedroom Colonial Manor — so best of luck to the Singapore government in footing the bill.
As for Sentosa, the resort island off the southern coast is a tourist trap hotspot known more for rollercoaster rides, beach parties, and very expensive abodes — far from a place for political pow-wows. The name of the island comes from the same Malay word “sentosa”, which means tranquil, calm and safe. All the words we’d want to associate for a meeting between an unpredictable American president and a paranoid North Korean dictator.
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