Summit Snippets: Britain, EU, Russia hail Kim's pledge

Britain, EU, Russia hail Kim's pledge

NEW YORK/LONDON • Britain, Russia and the European Union yesterday welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's pledge to move towards complete denuclearisation at a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore, even as they cautioned that it was only the first step.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, in a statement, called it a "constructive summit", but noted that there was still "much work to be done". The EU praised the summit as a "crucial and necessary step" indicating that denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula could be achieved.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to offer its support on carrying out the agreement on the steps towards denuclearisation.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was positive, but "the devil is in the details", the TASS news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Iran warned Mr Kim yesterday against trusting Mr Trump, saying he could cancel the agreement within hours.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS


Rodman recounts hostility he faced

SINGAPORE • Basketball star and improbable North Korean envoy Dennis Rodman broke down in tears live on television yesterday as he recounted the hostility he faced for meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Appearing on CNN to voice hope and claim vindication, a tearful Rodman said: "I got death threats."

He added: "I couldn't even go home... I had to hide out for 30 days."

He said the controversial talks between him and Mr Kim, and between US President Donald Trump and Mr Kim, were the right thing to do. "We need the doors to be open and start fresh and make this world a better place," he added.

Rodman has struck up an unlikely friendship with the basketball-loving North Korean leader and has made five trips to Pyongyang since Mr Kim took power. He flew into Singapore late on Monday to be present for the summit.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Journalists get post-summit treat

SINGAPORE • With the end of the Trump-Kim summit, journalists who had been working out of the International Media Centre (IMC) at the F1 Pit Building were invited to a post-summit reception yesterday evening.

The IMC had opened at 10am on Sunday, the day US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un both flew into Singapore.

And the journalists were in for a treat, as their burdens were replaced with booze.

Local brewery Brewerkz created a special beer, the Singapore Summit Pilsner, just for the occasion. While pilsner lager has been a mainstay of the company since it started in 1997, the brew was tweaked specially for this summit.

"It took the brewmaster two months to create this new beer. It was created with a single hop style of brewing," explained Mr Kenny Chai, 32, service supervisor at Brewerkz's main outlet at Riverside Point. "The character of the beer is more crisp due to the stronger CO2 (carbon dioxide) content. The taste is more bitter, but maintains a refreshing character."

Mr Chai said Brewerkz wanted to create a beer that could showcase a unique aspect of Singapore to the foreign members of the media and, as the weather here is warm and humid, a pilsner-style beer would be refreshing.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 13, 2018, with the headline Summit Snippets: Britain, EU, Russia hail Kim's pledge. Subscribe