Just months ago, American President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been hurling abuse at each other and musing about the size of their respective nuclear arsenals. So, against that backdrop, the sight of the two men at yesterday's summit in Singapore joining hands in peace and mouthing words of goodwill, was a welcome, even historic, moment that the world watched with a collective sense of relief, and perhaps even disbelief.

The two countries have been implacable foes for years. But in a dramatic breakthrough, their meeting in Sentosa transformed ideological hostility into a promise of peace. Mr Trump committed himself to providing security guarantees to North Korea, and Mr Kim reaffirmed his commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.