Singapore to repeal colonial-era law against gay sex: PM

France24 – AFP,  21 August 2022 

Gay rights campaigners have long said Singapore's law runs afoul of the
affluent city-state's increasingly modern and vibrant culture Roslan RAHMAN AFP

Singapore (AFP) – Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced Sunday the country will repeal a colonial-era law criminalising gay sex, though he maintained that the government will continue to "uphold" marriage as between a man and a woman. 

Inherited from the British colonial era, section 377A of Singapore's penal code penalises sex between men with up to two years in jail. 

Gay rights campaigners have long said the law runs afoul of the affluent city-state's increasingly modern and vibrant culture, and had mounted two unsuccessful legal challenges. 

During a major policy speech Sunday, Lee said attitudes have shifted since 15 years ago when the government decided the law should remain, although it has not been actively enforced. 

Gay people "are now better accepted" locally, especially among younger Singaporeans, he said. 

"It is timely to ask ourselves again the fundamental question: Should sex between men in private be a criminal offence?" Lee said. 

"The government will repeal section 377A and decriminalise sex between men. I believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept." 

He added: "This will bring the law into line with current social mores, and I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans". 

However, the repeal of section 377A stops short of full marriage equality. 

Lee said the government recognises that "most Singaporeans do not want the repeal to trigger a drastic shift in our societal norms across the board", including how marriage is defined and how it is taught in schools. 

"Hence, even as we repeal section 377A, we will uphold and safeguard the institution of marriage," he said. 

He stressed that under the law, "only marriages between one man and one woman are recognised in Singapore". 

The government will amend the constitution to protect the existing definition of marriage from being challenged constitutionally in the courts, Lee added. 

'Long road to equality'

The first attempt to overturn the law was rejected in 2014. The Court of Appeals dismissed the second challenge last February. 

Gay rights campaigners on Sunday expressed "relief" over the government's decision. 

"The repeal of Section 377A is the first step on a long road towards full equality for LGBTQ+ people in Singapore," they said in joint statement signed by more than 20 groups. 

But "the true impact of repeal will be determined by how the people of Singapore respond to it, and treat each other, in the days and months to come". 

Ahead of Lee's speech, an alliance of Protestant churches in Singapore had warned Friday against removing the law, which it described as a "marker for many social and moral considerations". 

In 2018, India's Supreme Court decriminalised gay sex by overturning legislation from its own period under British rule -- a decision that spurred campaigners in Singapore to renew their efforts to challenge the law. 

The following year, Taiwan took the unprecedented decision in May to legalise same-sex marriage, becoming the first place in Asia to do so.

Indonesia arrests nearly 200 over raging forest fires

Yahoo – AFP, September 16, 2019

The fires -- usually started by illegal burning to clear land for farming -- have
unleashed choking haze across Southeast Asia (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Indonesia has arrested nearly 200 people over vast forest fires ripping across the archipelago, police said Monday, as toxic haze sends air quality levels plummeting and sparks flight cancellations.

Jakarta has deployed thousands of personnel to battle blazes that are turning land into charred landscapes and consuming forests in Sumatra and Borneo islands, where thousands of schools have been shut over health fears.

The fires -- usually started by illegal burning to clear land for farming -- have unleashed choking haze across Southeast Asia, triggering diplomatic tensions with Indonesia's neighbours.

On Monday, authorities said they had arrested some 185 people suspected of being involved in activities that led to out-of-control fires sweeping the country.

"Indonesian Police will enforce the law against anyone who is proven to have carried out forest and land burning, whether it was done intentionally or through negligence," National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told reporters in Jakarta.

Indonesia's peat fires: a smouldering problem (AFP Photo/John SAEKI)

"This is a last resort. The most important thing is prevention."

Four corporations were also being investigated, he added.

Last week, Indonesia sealed off dozens of plantations where smog-belching fires were blazing, and warned that owners -- including Malaysia and Singapore-based firms -- could face criminal charges if there was evidence of illegal burning.

Some of the most serious fires occur in peatlands, which are highly combustible when drained of water to be converted into agricultural plantations.

Thick haze in Borneo -- where air quality levels have plummeted to "dangerous" levels in some areas -- caused the cancellation of about a dozen flights Sunday, national airline Garuda said.

Rival Lion Air said about 160 Borneo flights had been affected at the weekend.

Meanwhile, nearly 150,000 people have been treated for acute respiratory infections linked to the haze in recent months, according to Indonesian health authorities.

Nearly 150,000 people have been treated for acute respiratory infections 

linked to the haze in recent months (AFP Photo/Str)

While forest fires are an annual problem, the situation this year has been worsened by drier weather in Indonesia, with diplomatic tensions soaring as toxic smog drifts over to neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.

The haze pushed Singapore's air quality to unhealthy levels for the first time in three years at the weekend.

In 2015, Indonesia suffered its worst forest fires for almost two decades, which dramatically increased its greenhouse gas emissions.

Huge fires tearing through the Amazon are also compounding concerns about the long-term impact of such blazes on keeping global temperature levels stable.

Related Article:

Singapore air 'unhealthy' ahead of F1 race

Singapore air 'unhealthy' ahead of F1 race

Yahoo – AFP, September 14, 2019

Singapore may continue to experience hazy conditions over the next few days,
the environment agency warned (AFP Photo/Roslan RAHMAN)

Singapore (AFP) - Pollution from forest fires in Indonesia pushed Singapore's air quality to unhealthy levels for the first time in three years on Saturday, the government said, a week ahead of the Formula One night race in the city.

The toxic smoke caused by burning to clear land for plantations is an annual problem for Indonesia's neighbours, but has been worsened this year by particularly dry weather.

"There has been a deterioration in the haze conditions in Singapore this afternoon," the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement.

"This was due to a confluence of winds over the nearby region that led to more smoke haze from Sumatra being blown toward Singapore," it said, referring to one of the Indonesian islands where fires are raging.

The NEA said the pollutant standards index (PSI) worsened to 112 in parts of the island Saturday night.

An index reading between 101-200 is considered unhealthy, with residents advised against doing prolonged strenuous exercises outdoors.

Singapore may continue to experience hazy conditions over the next few days, the agency warned.

The city-state of 5.6 million people was shrouded in a thin white haze, with a few residents seen wearing face masks, but there was no major disruption to daily activities.

The F1 race is scheduled from Friday to Sunday on a street circuit in the Marina Bay financial district.

Singapore GP, the Formula One organisers, said the possibility of haze is one of the potential issues covered in their contingency plan for this year's grand prix.

"The plan was formulated and refined with stake holders, government bodies and the Formula One community," Singapore GP said in an emailed statement.

"In the event that the haze causes visibility, public health or operational issues, Singapore GP would work closely with the relevant agencies before making any collective decisions regarding the event."

Neighbouring Malaysia has also been affected by the smoke, with air quality in parts of the country including the capital Kuala Lumpur reaching unhealthy levels over the past few days and triggering a diplomatic row with Jakarta.

In 2015, the index reached "hazardous" levels of more than 300 in Singapore, forcing the closure of schools. Indonesian forest fires were the worst in two decades that year, firing up smog that blanketed large parts of Southeast Asia for weeks.

Singapore to ban sale of elephant ivory from 2021

Yahoo – AFP, August 12, 2019

Singapore authorities made their largest ever seizure of smuggled ivory last month,
impounding a haul of nearly nine tonnes of contraband tusks from an estimated
300 African elephants valued at $12.9 million (AFP Photo/Handout)

Singapore said Monday it will impose a blanket ban on the domestic sale of elephant ivory and products from 2021 as the government tightens its campaign against illegal wildlife trade.

The announcement on World Elephant Day followed two years of consultations with non-government groups, ivory retailers and the public.

Authorities in the city-state made their largest ever seizure of smuggled ivory last month, impounding a haul of nearly nine tonnes of contraband tusks from an estimated 300 African elephants valued at $12.9 million.

The illegal cargo was discovered in a container from the Democratic Republic of the Congo being shipped to Vietnam via Singapore and also included a huge stash of pangolin scales.

Singapore has banned international trade in all forms of elephant ivory products since 1990.

Such items could be sold domestically if traders could prove they were imported before that year or acquired prior to the inclusion of the relevant elephant species in an international convention protecting endangered species.

In a statement Monday, Singapore's National Parks Board banned the sale of elephant ivory and products with effect from September 1, 2021.

Violators face a jail term of up to one year and fines on conviction.

Traders can donate their ivory stocks to institutions or keep them after the ban takes effect, the board said.

Public consultation by the government last year showed that 99 percent of those who responded were in favour of a total ban.

Elephant ivory is coveted because it can be fashioned into items like combs, pendants and other jewellery.

The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after the population of the African giants dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to around 600,000 by the end of the 1980s.

Academics concerned about Singapore's 'fake news' law

Yahoo – AFP, April 15, 2019

Singapore's proposed 'fake news' law includes powers for ministers to order sites
 like Facebook, Google and Twitter to put warnings next to posts authorities deem
false (AFP Photo/Roslan RAHMAN)

Nearly 100 academics worldwide have expressed concern over Singapore's proposed law against "fake news", warning it could threaten academic freedom and hurt the city-state's ambition to become a global education hub.

The government this month unveiled a bill containing tough measures, including powers for ministers to order sites like Facebook, Google and Twitter to put warnings next to posts authorities deem false, and extreme cases, to take them down.

If an action is deemed malicious and damaging to Singapore's interests, companies could be hit with fines of up to Sg$1 million ($740,000), while individuals could face jail terms of up to 10 years.

Authorities in the tightly-controlled country insist the measures are necessary to prevent online falsehoods sowing social divisions, but the move has sparked anger from press freedom groups and tech giants such as Facebook and Google.

Now ninety-seven academics from around the world with expertise in Singapore and Asia have signed a letter warning the proposed legislation "may deter scholarship and set precedents harmful to global academia".

"We are concerned that the proposed legislation will have unintended detrimental consequences for scholars and research in Singapore," said the group, who included academics from Harvard and Yale, as well as institutions in Britain, Australia, and parts of Asia.

The letter, released at the weekend, also warned the law could compromise "Singapore's notable efforts to develop itself into an internationally-recognised hub for excellence in higher education".

Singapore is home to several leading higher education institutes, which attract academics from around the world.

The group, called Academics Against Disinformation, also said they wrote to the education ministry to express their concerns.

The ministry was cited in local media as saying the draft law does not restrict opinion and will not affect academic research work, but the academics said they could not accept the response as a guarantee.

Singapore is among several countries seeking to legislate against fake news, and the bill is expected to pass easily through parliament, which is dominated by the long-ruling People's Action Party.

Singaporean couple jailed for 'worst of its kind' maid abuse

Yahoo – AFP, March 18, 2019

Singapore has taken a tough stand against maid abuse to protect some 250,000
domestic workers from other parts of Asia who work in the affluent nation for higher
salaries (AFP Photo/Roslan RAHMAN)

A Singaporean couple was on Monday jailed for abusing a Myanmar maid after the pair force-fed her with a funnel, made her eat her own vomit and threatened to kill her family if she reported the maltreatment.

In a case described by Singapore prosecutors as "arguably one of the worst of its kind" in the city-state, the married couple -- who were sentenced two years ago over the abuse of another maid -- beat and kicked their helper and made her clean the house in her underwear.

Moe Moe Than, 32, was also given little food, limited use of the toilet and faced threats that her parents in Myanmar would be killed if she reported the abuse, court documents showed.

District Judge Olivia Low on Monday sentenced the woman, Chia Yun Ling, to 47 months in prison and ordered her to pay a fine. Her husband, Tay Wee Kiat, a former information technology manager, was jailed for 24 months.

They were also ordered to pay compensation to the maid.

The sentence however drew angry reactions online, with readers demanding a harsher punishment.

"Pathetic sentences. Should each be doing 10 years and have their kids taken off them," reader Rich Mackereth wrote on the Facebook page of state broadcaster Channel NewsAsia.

"Such deplorable human beings!! They need also to be whipped and caned," wrote reader Andrew Siah with the symbol of an angry emoji.

The couple's mistreatment of Than during her employment of nearly a year in 2012 was detailed in more than 20 charges.

"In the present case, the accused persons had systematically and persistently abused Moe Moe Than both physically and psychologically throughout the period of her employment," state prosecutors told the court, also noting a lack of remorse from the couple.

One charge said Chia, a former senior sales manager, force-fed the maid a mixture of rice and sugar through a funnel after the helper told her she did not have enough food to eat.

This caused the victim to choke and she ran to the toilet to throw up, the charge said.

Chia followed, scolded and slapped the maid, and instructed her to throw up into a plastic bag "and thereafter (made) to eat her own vomit," the charge added.

The same couple were in March 2017 sentenced to jail terms for abusing their Indonesian maid -- the husband for two years and four months and the wife for two months. They have yet to serve those sentences.

Singapore has taken a tough stand in prosecuting abusers to protect some 250,000 domestic workers from other parts of Asia who work in the affluent nation for higher salaries.

In February, a Singaporean salon manager who abused her Myanmar maid by forcing her to pour hot water on herself was jailed for three years.

And in March 2017, a Singaporean couple who starved their Filipina maid had their jail sentences increased to 10 months by the High Court after an appeal by the prosecution.

The High Court had agreed that their original jail terms ranging from three weeks to three months were "patently and manifestly inadequate".

Dyson switches HQ from Britain to Singapore: company

France24 – AFP, 22/01/2019

Leaving Britain, but not because of Brexit AFP/File

British electric appliance pioneer Dyson will switch headquarters to Singapore this year due to booming Asian demand but not because of Brexit, the company said Tuesday.

The group, founded and owned by serial entrepreneur and vocal Brexit supporter James Dyson, last year announced it would produce electric cars in Singapore.

The firm stressed that Brexit was not a factor behind the decision to ditch its corporate base in Malmesbury in Wiltshire, western England, in favour of Singapore.

Dyson, famed for its cordless vacuum cleaners, hand dryers and fans, now has its sights set on electric vehicles -- particularly in Asia.

"An increasing majority of Dyson's customers and all of our manufacturing operations are now in Asia; this shift has been occurring for some time and will quicken as Dyson brings its electrical vehicle to market," it said in an earnings statement.

"As a result, an increasing proportion of Dyson's executive team is going to be based in Singapore; positioning them to make the right decisions for Dyson in a quick and efficient way.

"This does not change any of our investment and recruitment plans; however we are now at a point where Dyson's corporate head office will relocate there to reflect the increasing importance of Asia to Dyson's business."

A prototype Dyson electric vehicle is in the works for 2020, followed by a product launch in 2021.

'Not related to Brexit'

The Singapore move "is not related to Brexit", chief executive Jim Rowan told reporters on a conference call, noting there was only a "negligible" tax benefit.

"We don't see any issues regarding Brexit," he said, adding that Dyson's manufacturing capacity, as well as the majority of its supply base, is in south east Asia.

"We are a global technology company," Rowan insisted, adding that it would continue to invest in home market Britain.

Dyson had already announced last October that it had picked Singapore for its first electric car plant, sparking criticism from some quarters that its Brexit-backing billionaire founder had not invested more in the UK.

But the group also said in March that it would open a second research and development centre in a former Royal Air Force airfield in Hullavington, southwest England.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Dyson said that 2018 underlying profit -- as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) -- surged one third to £1.1 billion (1.2 billion euros, $1.4 billion).

Turnover, or sales, rose by 28 percent to stand at £4.4 billion on growing global appetite for cutting-edge technology.

"Globally, enthusiastic owners are demanding high-performance products so we are deepening out operations and technology investments to meet their needs," added Rowan.

James Dyson, who owns 100 percent of the company he founded in the 1970s, has revolutionised household appliances with his bagless vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans and air purifiers.

Related Articles:

‘Sony to shift European operations from Britain to the Netherlands’
Philips closes last UK factory, moves production to Friesland

SE Asia urges Myanmar to hold military accountable for Rohingya crisis

Yahoo – AFP, October 2, 2018

Around 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar's western Rakhine state have fled
across the border to Bangladesh since August last year following a military campaign
that allegedly involved murder, rape, torture and razing villages (AFP Photo/
Dibyangshu SARKAR)

Myanmar's neighbours in Southeast Asia have urged the country to hold those responsible for the Rohingya crisis "accountable", Singapore said Tuesday, in a rare call for justice from within the region.

Around 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar's western Rakhine state have fled across the border to Bangladesh since August last year following a military campaign that allegedly involved murder, rape, torture and razing villages.

The UN has accused Myanmar's military of committing "genocide" against the Muslim minority.

As global pressure has mounted over the atrocities, Myanmar formed an "Independent Commission of Enquiry", which is chaired by former Philippine deputy foreign minister Rosario Manalo -- but gave no details of the commission's remit, powers or how long it would take to complete its investigation.

Critics have blasted the commission for its toothlessness after Manalo said her commission will not be "blaming" or "finger pointing" anybody.

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he and his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met on September 29 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and discussed the situation in Rakhine.

"We expressed our grave concern with these alleged acts of violence that have led to loss of lives, injuries, destruction of homes and displacement of large numbers of people," he said in parliament.

"To be brutally honest, this is a man-made humanitarian disaster and something which should not be happening in this day and age."

He said the ministers told Myanmar that the commission "should be given a full mandate to investigate and to hold all those responsible fully accountable".

Myanmar's military has denied nearly all wrongdoing, justifying its crackdown as a legitimate means of rooting out Rohingya militants.

But after a fact-finding mission, the United Nations set up a panel to prepare indictments against Myanmar's army chief and five other top military commanders for crimes against humanity and genocide.

Much of Myanmar's majority Buddhist society regards the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and has for decades systematically stripped them of their rights.

Balakrishnan noted that Myanmar cannot be compelled by ASEAN to act as the 10-nation grouping makes decisions by consensus, which effectively gives each member veto powers.

The bloc however can influence Myanmar through "persuasion, through transparency and keeping this on the agenda" of their annual meetings, he said.

ASEAN members typically steer clear of openly criticising each other's domestic policies.

Singapore, the current chair of ASEAN's rotating leadership, will host a summit of the group's leaders in November.

The bloc's other members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Fresh challenge lodged against Singapore gay-sex ban

France24 - AFP,12 September 2018

Singpore's gay rights groups have seen growing levels of public support

A Singaporean disc jockey has lodged a court challenge against a law banning sex between men in the city-state, his lawyers said Wednesday, inspired by last week's landmark ruling in India.

Debate has intensified in Singapore since the Indian Supreme Court last week decriminalised gay sex, overturning a statute dating back to British colonial rule.

Sex between men remains illegal in Singapore due to a law inherited from the same colonial-era statute, although it is rarely enforced.

Lawyers for Johnson Ong -- a former ambassador for Singapore's leading gay rights group Pink Dot and known as DJ Big Kid -- said they will introduce evidence to show the ban runs counter to the constitution's guarantee of personal liberty.

"We will argue that dignity is a foundational concept which forms the bedrock of the fundamental liberties provisions of the Singapore Constitution," they said in a summary of their arguments sent to AFP, adding that they will show this law violates human dignity.

In 2014, Singapore's appeals court dismissed a constitutional challenge by a gay couple against the law -- known as Section 377A of the penal code -- saying it was up to parliament to repeal it.

But lawyers Eugene Thuraisingam and Suang Wijaya, who are representing Ong without payment, said they will cite a 2015 US report which says that sexual orientation "is unchangeable or suppressible at an unacceptable personal cost".

If this is so, "criminalising the manifestation of sexual orientation -- that is, consensual intimate activity -- must be in violation of human dignity," they said.

The lawyers will also argue that since the first challenge in Singapore was dismissed four years ago, there have been court decisions worldwide legalising same-sex marriage or gay sex, including the Indian court's ruling.

While affluent Singapore boasts a modern and vibrant culture, official attitudes toward homosexuality remain conservative.

But public support for gay rights has been growing, with thousands turning up in recent years for Singapore's annual Pink Dot gay rights rally.

Tommy Koh, a senior Singapore diplomat, Friday urged the country's gay community to challenge the law banning homosexual sex, a rare high-level intervention on the issue.

Singapore Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said last week the government stood between a majority of Singaporeans opposing the repeal of the law and a "growing minority" who want it abolished.

Trump, Kim hail historic summit; questions over way forward

Yahoo – AFP, Andrew BEATTY, Sebastien BERGER, June 12, 2018

Standing in front of the flags of their two countries, Donald Trump and
Kim Jong Un made history in Singapore (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Singapore (AFP) - Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un hailed their historic summit Tuesday as a breakthrough in relations between Cold War foes, but their agreement was short on details about the key issue of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons.

The unprecedented encounter in Singapore saw the leader of the world's most powerful democracy shake hands with the third generation scion of a dynastic dictatorship, standing as equals in front of their nations' flags.

Kim agreed to the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula", a stock phrase favoured by Pyongyang that stopped short of long-standing US demands for North Korea to give up its atomic arsenal in a "verifiable" and "irreversible" way.

And in a blockbusting press conference after the summit, Trump said the US would halt military exercises with Seoul -- something long sought by Pyongyang, which claims the drills are a rehearsal for invasion.

With Pyongyang having declared a moratorium on weapons testing on the grounds its development programmes were complete, the move looked like a tacit acceptance of the "freeze for freeze" proposal pushed by Beijing and previously decried by Washington.

Map showing the venue of the June 12 summit between US President
Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AFP Photo/Laurence CHU)

The US stations around 30,000 troops in security ally South Korea to protect it from its neighbour, which invaded in 1950 in an attempt to reunify the peninsula by force.

"We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money," Trump told reporters, adding that "at some point" he wanted to withdraw US troops from the South.

Both Seoul and US military commanders in the South indicated they had no idea the announcement was coming, and analysts expressed immediate concern.

Ending the drills "is in excess of all expert consensus, South Korean requests, and even a close reading of North Korean demands", said Adam Mount of the Federation of American Scientists.

In Washington, Pentagon personnel -- also caught off guard -- spent the morning discussing what could amount to an epic shift in the US military's posture in South Korea.

All smiles

The Singapore summit was a potentially legacy-defining meeting for both men -- comparable to president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, or Ronald Reagan's 1986 summit with Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un shared upbeat words as they
sat down together for the first time (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

World powers from China to Japan, the European Union and Russia welcomed its outcome -- while cautioning it was only the first step towards resolving the nuclear stand-off with Pyongyang.

Many agreements have been made in the past with North Korea that have later fallen apart, and ahead of the meeting, critics expressed concerns that it risked being more about headlines than substantive progress.

It also legitimised Kim, whose regime stands accused of widespread human rights abuses, critics charged.

In the event, the two leaders showered each other with compliments in the sumptuous setting of a luxury Singapore hotel, a marked contrast from their previous rounds of mutual insults, such as "mentally deranged" and "little rocket man".

Trump said he had formed a "special bond" with Kim, whom he described as "very talented". As well as abuses at home, Kim is also suspected of ordering the assassination of his brother at a Malaysian airport last year.

In a blocbusting press conference after the summit, President Donald Trump 

said the US would halt joint military exercises with Seoul (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

After a day filled with smiles and handshakes watched around the world, the US "committed to provide security guarantees" to North Korea, while Pyongyang committed to "work towards" denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

Melissa Hanham of the US-based Center for Nonproliferation Studies said on Twitter that North Korea had "already promised to do this many times," adding the two sides "still don't agree on what 'denuclearisation' means."

Asked about the issue -- the crux of the summit -- Trump said "we're starting that process" which would begin "very, very quickly", but gave no concrete details.

Speaking later as he flew out of Singapore bound for the US territory of Guam -- towards which Pyongyang last year threatened to lob missiles -- Trump said he intended to hold North Korea to its word on denuclearisation.

"We're going to have to check it and we will check it. We'll check it very strongly," he told reporters on Air Force One.

In the meantime, the US leader declared himself satisfied with the summit outcome, saying "there was nothing more we could have done."

Asked whether he trusted Kim, he replied: "I do."

We'll meet again

Standing with Kim after the signing ceremony in Singapore, Trump vowed they would meet again.

"We will meet many times," said the president, who declared himself "absolutely" willing to invite Kim to the White House, when the time was right.

For his part, Kim -- who made headlines the evening before the summit with an nighttime visit to major tourist sites -- said the two Cold War foes had vowed to "leave the past behind", pledging "the world will see a major change".

Abraham Denmark of the Wilson Center in Washington tweeted: "It seems Kim got a huge propaganda win and a metric ton of legitimacy, and the US gave up joint exercises, for little new and nothing in return."

But he added: "The silver lining is that dialogue will continue, and where there is diplomacy there is hope."

US-NKorea summit back on, Trump says after meeting Kim envoy

Yahoo – AFP, Andrew Beatty and Dave Clark, June 1, 2018

US President Donald Trump (R) poses for photographs with North Korea's Kim
Yong Chol (L) at the White House after their Oval Office talks (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Friday he will meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un as originally scheduled on June 12 for a historic summit after extraordinary Oval Office talks with a top envoy from Pyongyang.

Speaking after more than an hour of talks with Kim Yong Chol in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that denuclearization -- and a formal end to the decades-old Korean war -- would be on the table in Singapore.

But the US leader warned that he did not expect to immediately sign a deal to bring a halt to the North's nuclear program.

"I never said it goes in one meeting. I think it's going to be a process, but the relationships are building and that's very positive," he said, after waving farewell to the North Korean envoy, Kim's right-hand man.

Ending the war

Trump said they had discussed formally ending the Korean War, which has been largely frozen since an armistice ended hostilities, but not the underlying conflict, in 1953. Since then, there have been occasional clashes on the divided peninsula.

"We talked about it. We talked about ending the war," Trump said.

"Historically it's very important, but we'll see. We did discuss that, the ending of the Korean War. Can you believe we're talking about the ending of the Korean War?"

Washington is determined that Kim should agree to what US officials call the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" end of North Korea's nuclear weapons and intercontinental missile programs.

Chronology of diplomatic tensions between the US and North Korea

(AFP Photo/Sophie RAMIS)

Kim says he is committed to "denuclearization" in some form, but he is expected to demand security guarantees -- one of which could be an formal end to the conflict with the US and South Korea.

Most expert observers are skeptical that even an unprecedented summit between the two leaders can lead to a rapid breakthrough, and Trump admitted it would be a long and difficult process.

"We're not going to go in and sign something on June 12. We never were. I told him today, 'Take your time'," he said, adding nevertheless that he expects "a really positive result in the end."

Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling party executive and the most senior North Korean to visit the United States in 18 years, spent almost 90 minutes in the Oval Office.

Afterwards, Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walked the North's small delegation to their waiting cars, smiling and shaking hands in front of the media before the motorcade pulled away.

Security guarantees

North Korean officials said Kim Yong Chol was expected to return to Pyongyang shortly. Meanwhile, discussions between US and North Korean officials continue in Singapore and in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

On Thursday, Kim Jong Un told Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that his commitment to denuclearization remains "unchanged and consistent and fixed," but experts warn he will seek concessions from Washington.

US President Donald Trump (R), flanked by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 

shakes hands with North Korean Kim Yong Chol (L) outside the White House 

(AFP Photo/Saul LOEB)

In addition to an end to the war, he is likely to seek international recognition as well as guarantees against any strike by the US forces stationed in South Korea.

As expected, Kim Yong Chol handed Trump a letter from Kim that may clear up some of the questions. The US leader said the missive was "very nice" -- but then admitted he had not yet read it. An aide later confirmed he did after the talks.

The Oval Office talks and letter delivery came only a week after Trump threatened to consign the entire process to history, abruptly cancelling the summit in a sharply worded letter, only to revive preparations shortly afterwards.

Trump said that, after Friday's talks, the parties are "totally over that and now we're going to deal and we're going to really start a process."

Since the short-lived boycott threat, diplomats from both countries have conducted an intense flurry of talks, culminating this week when Pompeo sat down in New York with Kim's envoy.

'Their decision'

Pompeo said on Thursday that, after what have now been two meetings with Kim Jong Un and three with Kim Yong Chol, he believes the North is at least ready to consider addressing US demands for denuclearization.

"I believe they are contemplating a path forward. They can make a strategic shift. One that their country has not been prepared to make before. This will obviously be their decision," he said.

The flurry of diplomacy has also seen a rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, with the two Koreas holding high-level talks Friday at the border truce village of Panmunjom.

The meeting followed two landmark summits between the leaders of North and South Korea in the last five weeks.

North and South Korea agreed to hold more meetings throughout this month to carry out the agreements reached between their leaders at the April summit, according to a joint statement issued after Friday's talks.