2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit — meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un
The first-ever meeting between sitting leaders of North Korea and the United States, producing a joint statement on denuclearization and security guarantees.
Key Facts
- Date
- June 12, 2018
- Venue
- Capella Hotel, Sentosa, Singapore
- Historic first
- First meeting between North Korean and U.S. leaders
- Joint statement topics
- Denuclearization, security guarantees, remains recovery
- US Forces Korea floor (Senate bill)
- 22,000 personnel
- Follow-up summit
- Hanoi, Vietnam, February 2019
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After North Korea tested a hydrogen bomb and the Hwasong-15 ICBM in late 2017, tensions began easing when Kim Jong Un expressed interest in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. This opened diplomatic channels, including CIA Director Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang and a formal invitation delivered to Trump by a South Korean delegation in March 2018.
On June 12, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un met at the Capella Hotel in Sentosa, Singapore — the first summit between leaders of the two countries. They signed a joint statement covering security guarantees for North Korea, peaceful relations, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, recovery of soldiers' remains, and follow-up negotiations.
Trump announced the suspension of joint U.S.–South Korea military exercises immediately after the summit. The U.S. Senate subsequently passed legislation prohibiting reduction of American forces in South Korea below 22,000 personnel. A second summit was held in Hanoi in February 2019, though no further binding agreements were reached.