Trump officials prepare for Singapore summit with N.Korea
Washington, May 10: US officials have been instructed to move forward with plans to convene a historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, the media.
The decision is ultimately up to Trump, who said on Wednesday he would announce the time and location in three days, reports CNN.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump on Wednesday ruled out the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea as a potential location for the talks with Kim.
Singapore and the DMZ are the only two places Trump has floated in public as potential venues for the meeting.
The Southeast Asian city-state has been the preferred location among US officials, who saw its neutrality as an advantage over locations closer to Pyongyang.
Speaking during a briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders affirmed that a date and site had been determined.
"I can tell you that a date and location are set but beyond that, I don't have any other announcements at this point," Sanders said.
"But we expect that to be announced here in the next few days."
The meeting would be the first ever between a sitting US President and a North Korean leader, reports CNN.
Singapore has long been seen as a gateway between Asia and the West, and today remains a close ally to Washington and also hosts a US military presence.
It is also one of just 47 countries to host a North Korean embassy.
Even as Trump on Wednesday sought to heighten expectations for his summit, he acknowledged that the plans could fall apart.
"Everything can be scuttled. Everything can be scuttled," he said.
"A lot of good things can happen, a lot of bad things can happen. I believe that we have... Both sides want to negotiate a deal. I think it's going to be a very successful deal."
But, he repeated, "lots of things can happen. And, of course, you'll be the first to know about it if it fails".
He added that on Thursday morning, he will travel to an air base outside Washington D.C., along with Vice President Mike Pence to welcome the three US citizens - all with Korean heritage - recently released from prison by North Korea as a goodwill gesture.
The three Americans -- Kim Dong-chul, 64, Kim Sang-duk, 58, and Kim Hak-song, around 60 -- who had been held prisoners in North Korea, were all born in South Korea but later acquired US citizenship.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
