Seems like the prestige of hosting the Trump-Kim summit may be coming at a slightly higher price than we realized.
The on-again, off-again historic meeting — now on again after a few shaky moments — between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marks the first-ever sit-down between an American president and a North Korean leader.
And while he may not be a reality show tycoon like his US counterpart, one thing “brilliant comrade” Kim is known for is a love of luxury. So maybe it’s no surprise that he’s expecting to be put up in a 5-star hotel. That does, however, leave a question: who’s going to foot the bill for that opulence?
This weekend, The Washington Post revealed that the US has quietly been attempting to settle that question in meetings between White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and Kim’s de facto chief of staff, Kim Chang Son.
According to the publication, the North Korean leader is allegedly demanding to stay at The Fullerton Hotel, a grand, five-star heritage building by the Singapore River, where a single night in the presidential suite could chalk up a bill of more than S$8,000 (US$6,000). Despite being worth an estimated US$7 billion plus (likely far more than Trump’s still-unrevealed true net worth), it seems North Korea is crying poor.
Here’s the problem. Were the US to offer to foot the bill, it could be seen as a high-handed insult to the hermit kingdom. That’s where Singapore comes in. Per The Washington Post, the US is considering asking Singapore, as a host country, to shell out.
So will we? It would appear so.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Saturday told reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue that Singapore is prepared to shoulder any costs in relation to security and logistics issues for the summit. Said Ng: “Obviously yes, but it is a cost that we are willing to bear to play a small part in this historic meeting.”
So there ya go. What’s a few US$6,000 hotel nights compared to hosting the biggest international media event in decades?
Of course, not all Singaporeans were thrilled to find out about the expenditure. Netizens were quick to do what they do best, offering up plenty of amusement or straight up scorn at the notion that Singapore should fork out taxpayers’ money for the privilege of hosting the summit.
And where will the Donald be staying? He’ll reportedly be down the road at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore, another five-star hotel in Orchard that is used to such high-security events. Apparently, the Shangri-La Suite at the hotel’s Valley Wing is priced at S$10,000 (US$7,480) for the night of June 12. Take that, Kim!
The 792-room luxury hotel could be one of the contenders for the summit as well, considering how it has hosted former US President Barack Obama in 2009 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the 2015 meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, and last week’s annual Shangri-La Dialogue, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the keynote speaker.
However, the five-starred Capella Singapore, a rather private hotel surrounded by greenery on the island of Sentosa, is also purportedly considered as an option for the site of the summit. Reports have divulged that all its rooms and restaurants have been blocked out during the week of the meeting.
