US trying to find discreet way to pay for Kim's Singapore hotel
Washington, June 3: As preparations are underway for the historic US-North Korea summit, American officials are trying to solve the logistical issue of who will pay for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's housing at an island resort off the coast of Singapore, a report said.
With its economy weakened from tough sanctions, North Korea is requiring that a foreign country foot the bill at its preferred lodging: the Fullerton, a neoclassical hotel near the mouth of the Singapore River, where just one presidential suite costs more than $6,000 per night, The Washington Post reported.
The diplomatically fraught billing issue is just one of numerous logistical concerns being hammered out between two teams led by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and Kim's de facto chief of staff, Kim Chang-son, as they strive toward the June 12 meeting.
After weeks of uncertainty, President Donald Trump called off the summit last week, blaming "open hostility" from North Korea.
But a flurry of diplomacy across two continents got the meeting back on track, and Trump announced on Friday that he would attend as initially planned.
"When it comes to paying for lodging at North Korea's preferred five-star luxury hotel, the US is open to covering the costs," informed sources told The Post.
"But it's mindful that Pyongyang may view a US payment as insulting."
As a result, US planners are considering asking Singapore, the host country, to pay for the North Korean delegation's bill.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Saturday did not rule out the possibility that the US would arrange for Singapore's government to pay for the North Korean delegation's accommodations, but said Washington "is not paying the costs of accommodations in Singapore for the North Korean delegation".
During the PyeongChang Olympics earlier this year, South Korea set aside $2.6 million to cover travel accommodations for a North Korean cheering squad, an art troupe and other members of the visiting delegation.
At the same Games, the International Olympic Committee paid for 22 North Korean athletes to travel to the event.
In 2014, when former US Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. visited North Korea to retrieve two prisoners, his North Korean hosts served him an "elaborate 12-course Korean meal". The veteran intelligence official insisted that he pay for it.
Figuring out how to pay Pyongyang's hotel tab will not be the only unusual planning obstacle that comes with hosting an event with the isolated regime, the sources told The Washington Post.
The country's outdated and underused Soviet-era aircraft may require a landing in China because of concerns it won't make the 3,000-mile trip.
Alternatively, the North Koreans might travel in a plane provided by another country.
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You, your kids should learn Kannada: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu's advice to Bengaluru residents
Bengaluru: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu waded into the language debate that has gripped the state of Karnataka over the past few months. He recently reacted to a post on X by sharing that people who have made Bengaluru their “home” should know how to speak Kannada. In his opinion, not doing so is “disrespectful.”
The comment was in response to a post featuring two men wearing T-shirts with the phrase "Hindi National Language" written on them, accompanied by the caption, “Perfect T-shirt for Bangalore trip.”
Vembu, in his reply, emphasised the importance of cultural assimilation. Vembu wrote, “If you make Bengaluru your home, you should learn Kannada and your kids should learn Kannada.”
“Not doing so after living many years in Bengaluru is disrespectful. I often request our employees in Chennai coming from other states to make an effort to learn Tamil after they come here,” he added.
Vembu’s comments drew support from some, while others disagreed. "I agree. I took pride in learning Kannada, watching Raj Kumar movies and try to speak Kannada where possible. It's been 25 years now and from salfa salfa barute, now it's become gotila. One day, I do want to learn Tamil and Sanskrit when am back to India," a user said.
However, another user argued that this is immature, adding “being disrespectful for any language, culture is unacceptable but not learning a language is being disrespectful? Logic dies there.”
Another user wrote, “I have many Kannada friends in Mumbai, living here for decades. No one can speak Marathi. Not one word. Fair?”
Sridhar Vembu, whose net worth is estimated at $5.8 billion according to Forbes, is the founder and CEO of Zoho, a company that creates cloud-based business software.
I agree with this sentiment. If you make Bengaluru your home, you should learn Kannada and your kids should learn Kannada.
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) November 15, 2024
Not doing so after living many years in Bengaluru is disrespectful.
I often request our employees in Chennai coming from other states to make an effort to… https://t.co/1cIQ47FMjn
