Live news thread for Trump / Kim summit

Twitter hashtags for the latest news are #singaporesummit and #trumpkimsummit.

Live updates at BBC, Fox, CNN, ABC etc.

Here's some background:

Why does North Korea want nuclear weapons?
The Korean peninsula was divided after World War Two and the North developed into a Stalinesque authoritarian system.
Isolated on the global stage, it says nuclear weapons are its only deterrent against an outside world seeking to destroy it.

Could it carry out a nuclear attack?
North Korea has carried out six nuclear tests. One, it says, was a hydrogen bomb.
It claims, though this remains unverified, to have developed a nuclear bombsmall enough to be carried by a long-range missile.
It has also has a ballistic missile that experts believe could reach the US, Pyongyang's main adversary.
In response the UN, the US, the EU and have implemented increasingly tough sanctions.

Why can't Kim just be removed?
The North has missiles aimed at South Korea and Japan. A pre-emptive strike against Pyongyang could trigger devastating retaliation. It would also kill countless North Koreans.
As the biggest Asian power, China is concerned about regime collapse, and that a unified Korea would bring US forces currently stationed in the South directly to its border.

A historic summit in the making?
Previous attempts to negotiate aid-for-disarmament deals have failed.
But in 2018, the North embarked on direct talks with Seoul and in April the Koreas' two leaders met for a historic inter-Korean summit.
Pyongyang also suggested direct talks with the US, ordered a halt to nuclear and missile tests, freed three US detainees and blew up its nuclear testing site.
In March, US President Donald Trump briefly called off the summit but currently, his unprecedented meeting with Kim Jong-un is due to take place on 12 June in Singapore.
bbc.com