Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un summit set for June 12 in Singapore

Donald Trump has set the place and date for his historic summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.

Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump will meet in Singapore on June 12, the US President announced in a tweet this morning.

The historic summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump will be held in Singapore on June 12.

The US president confirmed the details in a tweet today, saying he hoped it would be a special moment for the world.

“The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th,” Mr Trump wrote. “We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!”

The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2018

The choice of Singapore was made after the White House rejected other options including the demilitarised zone along the border between the two Koreas and European locations such as Norway or Sweden.

Singapore, a pro-western country with a capitalist economy, maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea.

The meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Kim will be the first ever between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

It comes amid growing hope that the two leaders can secure an agreement that would lead to Pyongyang dismantling and ending its nuclear weapon program.

The most senior Republican in Congress, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said today: “I share in the hopes of our entire nation that the June 12th meeting will further our longtime goal of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.”

“The United States is committed to the permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction program. I share that goal, and if it proves unachievable through these talks, I support a continuation of the policy of maximum pressure on the regime.

Mr Trump’s announcement of the location and date of the summit came only hours after he was present in the middle of the night in Washington time to greet the return of three US prisoners from North Korea.

They were granted amnesty by the regime as a goodwill gesture ahead of the leader’s summit.

Their release has boosted relations between Mr Trump and Mr Kim ahead of the summit, raising hopes that a historic deal could be at hand to remove the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

“We want to thank Kim Jong Un,” Mr Trump said as he stood beside the three released Americans after they arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington.

“I really think he wants to do something and bring his country into the real world.”

Donald Trump and Melania Trump with the released hostages Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim, on their arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Picture: Getty Images.

The US President and Vice President Mike Pence were present at 3am Washington time to greet the three men when they arrived back in the US from North Korea.

The president and First Lady Melania Trump boarded the landed plane carrying the released prisoners Kim Dong Chul, Kim Has Song and Tony Kim before stepping with them onto US soil with a giant American flag as a backdrop.

The men emerged from the plane with broad grins, waving their arms in triumph.

“This is a special night for these three really great people,” Mr Trump said.

“Frankly, we didn’t think this was going to happen, and it did. It was a very important thing to all of us.”

When asked how he felt, Kim Dong Chul said through a translator: “It’s like a dream and we are very happy.”

Mr Trump said he was proud of their release but his proudest achievement would be “when we denuclearise that entire peninsula.”

“The true honour is going to be if we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons,” he said.

The three men were detained in 2016 and in 2017 for suspected hostile acts or spying against North Korea although their detention was widely seen as politically motivated.

They were released after a surprise visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In a statement the three men said: “We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States for bringing us home. We thank God, and all our families and friends who prayed for us and for our return. God Bless America, the greatest nation in the world.”

The decision to release the men was seen as a crucial sign of goodwill by Mr Kim ahead of the much anticipated summit which will mark the first ever meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

In comments attributed to Mr Kim, the North Korean news agency Thad Mr Trump for showing a “deep interest in settling the issue through dialogue”. He said the summit would be an “excellent first step toward promotion of the positive situation development in the Korean Peninsula.”

The successful release of the prisoners stands in contrast to the release by North Korea of US college student Otto Warmbier in June last year when relations between the US and Pyongyang were at their lowest. Warmbier was released with severe brain damage and died only days after arriving back in the US. His parents are now suing North Korea over the treatment of their son.

Fred and Cindy Warmbier said: “We are happy for the hostages and their families. We miss Otto.”

Mr Pompeo said he had a constructive meeting with Mr Kim about the summit.

“We had a chance to talk substantively about what we intend to be on the agenda, and also how we’re going to begin to co-ordinate in the days ahead between now and the summit in a way that we — both sides are confident that we will set the conditions for a successful meeting between the two leaders,” he said.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia