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Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan (left) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the US State Department on June 5. (Balakrishnan‘s Facebook page)

Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan is visiting Pyongyang ahead of his country’s hosting of a June 12 North Korea-US summit, AFP reported on June 6.

According to the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Balakrishnan is traveling to Pyongyang on June 7 for a two-day visit at the official invitation of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. During his stay, Balakrishnan is reportedly planning to meet with Ri and visit Supreme People’s Council Presidium president Kim Yong-nam.

While no specific reason was given for the visit, Balakrishnan appears likely to engage in working-level talks and -level coordination for the historic summit, preparations for which are rapidly gaining momentum.

Balakrishnan previously discussed cooperation on staging the summit in a June 14 telephone conversation with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha; on June 5, he visited the US State Department in Washington, DC, and met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. During the meeting, Pompeo expressed thanks to Singapore for its bid to host the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The triangular route of the June 12 North Korea-US summit

Trump and Kim are scheduled to have their summit at the Capella hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island at 9 am on June 12. The Singaporean government plans to designate the bridge linking Sentosa with mainland Singapore and the surrounding waters and airspace as “special event areas” under strict security as of June 10. Outside access to the Capella has already been restricted.

Each of the two leaders are expected to depart their lodgings on the morning of the summit and travel to the Capella in their exclusive vehicles. With a maximum straight-line distance of 7 kilometers between their respective accommodations and the summit venue, they should arrive within around 10 minutes once traffic controls are factored in. They may also choose to have lunch after their morning summit and resume their meeting in the afternoon.

Many are watching to see whether the two leaders will walk together on one of the hotel’s walking paths or a seaside road, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in walked with Kim on a pedestrian bridge during their first inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom. Some are wondering whether Trump will have the “meeting over hamburgers” with Kim that he referred to in the past during his presidential campaign.

The mood at the summit venue is predicted to heat up on the evening of June 10, when Trump is predicted to arrive in Singapore. With the summit beginning early in the morning, Kim is also expected to arrive by the evening of June 11 at the latest.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent, and Hwang Joon-bum and Kim Mi-na, staff reporters

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