North Korea summit: Kim Jong Un and Trump hold historic meeting

President Trump and Kim Jong Un will meet for the first time in an unprecedented summit in Singapore on Tuesday. The stakes are high — the U.S. seeks nothing less than the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and Kim wants to see the sanctions on the North eased. Their meeting is to begin at 9 p.m. ET (9 a.m local time).

After they greet each other, Mr. Trump and Kim will participate in a one-on-one meeting, with translators only, an expanded meeting including their top advisers, and a working lunch. According to the White House, the discussions between the U.S. and North Korea are “ongoing and have moved more quickly than expected.”

The White House says that the United States’ delegation at the larger meeting will include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff John Kelly, and National Security Adviser John Bolton.

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What is success for the North Korea summit?

Pompeo told reporters on Monday that if diplomacy does not move in the right direction after Tuesday’s talks, pressure will be ratcheted up on the North Korean regime. “We will see how far we get,” Pompeo said of the negotiations.

Pompeo also emphasized that the U.S. has its eyes open, since it has been “fooled” before during prior attempts to reach peace in the region. He says that the “v” – verification -matters most.

What’s up for discussion?

Both Mr. Trump and Kim are expected to largely focus their discussion on Tuesday around the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Pompeo told reporters on Monday that the U.S. is prepared to offer “different, unique” security assurances to North Korea.

“We’re prepared to take what will be security assurances that are different, unique than have been provided – than America has been willing to provide previously,” Pompeo said. The secretary added that he’s hopeful the summit will set the conditions for future productive talks and a potential framework for work towards denuclearization.

The president told Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore on Monday that he thinks “things could work out very nicely” during Tuesday’s talks.