Less than an hour after his arrival at Changi Airport, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his delegation drove straight to, you guessed it, The St. Regis.
Kim Jong Un’s motorcade, featuring his bulletproof Mercedes-Benz S600 limo, along Tanglin Road pic.twitter.com/AGDFfaGoDd
— Xavier Lur (@xavierlur) June 10, 2018
According to various media reports, Kim’s motorcade arrived at the upscale hotel in the heart of the city around 3:40pm. A couple of the cars in the convoy had men popping out from sunroofs with cameras rolling. According to Washington Post reporter Anna Fifield, these are North Korean TV cameramen filming Kim’s arriving in Singapore.
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un and his delegation arrive at St Regis where they will be staying during the #TrumpKimSummit #SingaporeSummit pic.twitter.com/x7WVOXYn8y
— Afifah Ariffin (@AfifahCNA) June 10, 2018
The North Korean TV cameramen are filming Kim Jong Un’s arrival in Singapore from moving cars, just as they do for big events in North Korea pic.twitter.com/lwjVtNZZLL
— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) June 10, 2018
Turns out, Dear Leader is not staying at Fullerton Hotel as initially believed. St. Regis has seen security measures ramped up around its vicinity over the last couple of days, especially so after the local authorities designated a chunk of Tanglin as a “special event area”. Anyone entering the zone will be subjected to checks, and potentially disruptive items such as flags, loudhailers, banners, and drones will not be allowed in.
Traffic along the Orchard Road shopping district went on a standstill as Kim’s convoy arrived in the Tanglin area.
Traffic on #Singapore’s busy #Orchard shopping belt has come to a standstill amid reports that #KimJongUn has landed in the country for the #TrumpKimSummit. The #NorthKoream leader is said to be staying at St Regis hotel round the corner. pic.twitter.com/toKO2RkE0h
— Huileng Tan 陳慧玲 (@huileng_tan) June 10, 2018
It’s a nine-minute walk from the St. Regis to the Shangri-La Hotel, where US President Donald Trump is highly likely to be staying. The five-star hotel was where the Chinese delegation bunked in back in 2015, during another historic summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou.
Since he’s staying at St. Regis, it would cost way more than it would have if he was roomed at The Fullerton. The Presidential Suite on the 20th story — and we wouldn’t expect Kim to want anything less — goes for up to S$12,260 a night, with a king-sized bed, silken throw pillows, crystal chandeliers, as well as marble, gold, brass, and silver adornments everywhere. In other words, everything that would be highly appealing to a very rich despot.
At this point in time, Singapore is likely to be the ones footing the bill if Kim refuses to pick up his own tab for food and accommodations. Speaking to reporters at the International Media Centre this morning, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong confirmed that Singapore will be spending about $20 million for the summit — a cost that he says is “our contribution to an international endeavor which is in our profound interest.”
PM Lee will be meeting with Kim later this evening and hold a separate meeting with US President Donald Trump tomorrow. The historic US-NK summit will take place on Tuesday at Sentosa’s Capella Hotel.
