hello and a very warm welcome to bbc news, i'm babita sharma in singapore. we're bringing you live coverage of the much—hyped kim—trump summit. even north korea's state broadcaster has finally begun reporting news of the historic meeting. donald trump and kimjong—un have met and shaken hands at the start of their historic one—day summit in singapore. the us president and north korean leader then held brief one—on—one talks with translators on defusing tensions and nuclear disarmament. the long road to the talks has seen secret meetings, stop—start diplomacy and the release of us detainees. but it all hangs on what happens, right here, right now. we're going to be great discussion. i think tremendous success. we'll be tremendously successful. it's my honour to be here. we will have a

career thick relationship, i have no doubt. —— terrific relationship. we had obstacles on our way forward in this but we hope to do well. both leaders thenjoined their teams of advisors for more detailed, wider—ranging discussions. we have all the developments live on bbc news. hello and welcome to this bbc news special from singapore and that historic summit between president trump and kim jong—un. the two men met and shook hands on a red carpet at the summit venue at the capella hotel on sentosa

and then then held one—to—one talks for around 50 minutes. they also held talks with a wider group of senior advisors and other officials. as they went into their initial meeting president trump predicted that he would have a terrific relationship with north korea's kim jong—un, words said amid smiles and backslapping. no sitting us president has ever met a north korean leader. before their anticipated talks, mr trump tweeted that the world will soon know whether a real deal, unlike those of the past can be forged with kim jong—un. kim jong—un also spoke during that brief photo opportunity we saw of the two leaders sitting down together, saying that the past... it

was not easy to get here, your prejudices and practices worked as obstacles prejudices and practices worked as o bsta cles in prejudices and practices worked as obstacles in our way forward but we ove rca m e obstacles in our way forward but we overcame all of them and we are here today. it's those images of the two men shaking hands that will be for ever etched in the brains of the world's media, and, of course, for north koreans, getting a chance to see it, which they will undoubtedly, because we know the north korean media, of course, notoriously closed off, rana media, of course, notoriously closed off, ran a front—page edition today showing kim jong—un here off, ran a front—page edition today showing kimjong—un here in singapore on that walkabout he was doing. an unpredictable one last night. and, of course, a conversation with the us. that in itself is unprecedented, let alone, of course, the symbolism behind the two men shaking hands and meeting in front of the north korean flag and the stars & stripes of the united states of america. let's give you a

reminder of what we saw here unfold a few hours ago. we'll have a little listen to what the two men had to say here at sentosa in singapore. mr president, how are you feeling? i feel great, we're mr president, how are you feeling? ifeel great, we're going mr president, how are you feeling? i feel great, we're going to have a great discussion, tremendous excess, we'll be tremendously successful and it's my honour to be here. we will have a great relationship, i have no doubt. inaudible while there were obstacles to get here... the past has affected us and the old

prejudices put obstacles in our way forward and we overcame all of them. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. fascinating to see thatjo. a bit of eye co nta ct fascinating to see thatjo. a bit of eye contact when we saw the moment between the two leaders —— to see that. that was juxtaposed with when they made their way to the main boardroom at the capella hotel, where they were more informal in terms of their body language and smiling at one another. interesting to see how donald trump seems to be

leading the direction they're walking in, but there's a couple of moments when he put out his arm to asher kim jong—un in the moments when he put out his arm to asher kimjong—un in the right direction —— usha. we've heard from korean media that such is asian custom that kim jong—un arrived after donald trump as a mark of respect, where the younger always makes for the elder. read into that what you will but since that moment they've been treated in terms equally, both walking in opposite directions after that handshake, although it was donald trump who put his hand out first. then opposite them is in that boardroom —— opposite them in that boardroom —— opposite them in that boardroom is the delegation, john bolton, the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, and the security advisor for donald trump, and

general kelly, his chief of staff. and the ambassador to switzerland was there for north korea, who has been key in the talks, leading up to this, his escapes me, can you tell me, rob? —— his name. robert kelly joins me from busan national university of out career. what is the name of the swiss ambassador who has been leading a lot of the dialogue? i don't know. fascinating to see the photo opportunity you have been talking about for a number of days. now the nitty—gritty, those details, that conversation is under way? if it's going to be good for the americans then we have to get the americans then we have to get the north koreans on record admitting to something, some kind of

concession in the future, process in the future, has to be different from the future, has to be different from the past. secretary of state pompeo said this was different to previous negotiations so when this wrapped up in the next few our north koreans have to give us something substantial and it has to be more than more process, that's what we've had in the past, endless tour, it has to be more substantial than that. but will it be? -- endless talk. probably not, the north koreans aren't going give up their nuclear weapons, not in the next 45 minutes oi’ weapons, not in the next 45 minutes or something like that! they've spent 50 years developing these things. they could get into a longer—term process. we know the north koreans like to talk but if they're going to give up what they've got, tell us how much nuclear material they have an surrender some of that, they will ask for serious concessions and we have to begin to talk about that. it would be helpful if the american president would talk and give a speech about what he would give up in exchange for what, sanctions relief or aid, there are lots of variables and things we can trade for concessions from the north but we haven't heard too much about

that. christopher hill, that name we we re that. christopher hill, that name we were looking for, by the way, i think. as you say, it is difficult to ascertain what can be achieved in a very short space of time. kim jong—un respected to leave singapore around 2pm if we go according to local reports —— expected. donald trump leaving at 7pm. about four hours in entirety, this conversation. but it will take yea rs ? conversation. but it will take years? if the whole point was to build a rapport, that's ok, i'm not sure how you can become friends with someone sure how you can become friends with someone in a few hours. i guess so, donald trump is jovial, someone in a few hours. i guess so, donald trump isjovial, at least in person, so it could work. this has to go beyond personalities. we know the president likes to personalise diplomacy but both countries like to... eventually they are going to have to go back and sell whatever comes back to this two constituencies back home. it has to be more than getting along and having a hamburger, there's been way too much focus on that and not

enough on the structural issues, strategic issues which are really not being discussed. you're not talking about human rights, how many missiles they have, we don't know how much nuclear material they have and where it is and it would be great if the president got some basic information out of north korea to get a worksheet out of them. that alone would be a nice concession. for me, the noticeable absence of a conversation about human rights, it is glaring. let's not make any mistake about north korea, a brutal regime. 200,000 political prisoners there. the plight of the north korean people. north korea is supported by the power elite, if you like, a dictatorial regime, a gangster style regime. the fact he is mining here and having a conversation, kimmich, we cannot disregard the human rights abuses so why has it not been on the table in terms of what we heard from the press briefing yesterday?‘ terms of what we heard from the press briefing yesterday? a great question and to be honest it's

because the north koreans react so badly when we bring this up, but has sunk negotiations with the north in the past between us and north korea and south korea and north korea. the un did a big report on human rights couple of years ago and the north koreans reacted sharply to that and the argument from the doves is this is something we have to hold for the future, get the ball rolling and bring it up maybe in the future. i'm hopeful. this is why there is so much anxiety with north korea, it isn't your run of the mill dictatorship, it is 0rwellian, like 1984, there will be lots of pressure. . . 1984, there will be lots of pressure... if this keeps going and it becomes a major long—running dialogue between the us and north korea, there will be pressure from the human rights communities and others to get the north koreans to be changed and less horrific to their own people before we normalised with them. if we have normalised with them. if we have normal relations with them then they need to be a normal state, which it isn't now. very quickly, briefly, i wa nt to isn't now. very quickly, briefly, i want to break down the language, the doves and the hawks, talk us through that? on the left, the doves, the

argument is to reach out to north korea and bring them in from the cold, engage with them and talk with them directly to modify and improve their behaviour. 0n the right, the hawks, the idea is north korea is terrible and we have to sanction them and be tough and confront them. moonjae—in is a dove, donald trump isa moonjae—in is a dove, donald trump is a hawk. that's what people say in the analyst industry. thanks very much. interesting to hear what we are going to talk about with our next guest, ambassador ambassador christopher hill was former us assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs. he led the us delegation on the six—party talks on north korean nuclear issue. your initial reaction to what you're seeing so far here in singapore? it's important to understand obviously this is historical, we haven't had an american president meeting a north korean leader before. any american president could have done this before and the reason

they haven't is north korea hasn't moved away from their nuclear ambitions, nor have they today. so the president, president trump, is trying to do it differently, trying to meet him and befriend him and build a relationship in the hopes that he has succeeded in doing that, he will get kim jong—un not only to give up his nuclear weapons but do it on give up his nuclear weapons but do itona give up his nuclear weapons but do it on a timescale. i suspect at the end of the day, that is today, the north koreans will say that they will get rid of their nuclear weapons but will not say when that is going to happen. in that instance, frankly speaking, it it's kind of similarto instance, frankly speaking, it it's kind of similar to what they agreed to in 2005 and 1994. so the question is, can trump build on and improve on that and actually finish the job? fascinating to hear you say us presidents could have gone here before but it's largely down to the fa ct before but it's largely down to the fact korea weren't willing to engage. with that in mind, what is your perspective of the leader, kim

jong—un, and what he is expecting himself to get out of these talks? well, he's already got a lot out of these talks. he's put himself on an equal plane with the president of the united states. i can assure you that this is playing very well back in north korea. he's gotten a lot out of the summit already. the question is now can the americans get something out of this summit and can the us get the north koreans not only to agree to denuclearise... they've said that in general terms in the past, but in talking about it, they have a kind of biblical notion that they will get rid of nuclear weapons when the lands lie down or the lions, this idea that the end of days, there won't be nuclear weapons “— the end of days, there won't be nuclear weapons —— lambs. the question is can donald trump and his tea m question is can donald trump and his team engage them on the basis they will do that and have a timescale of

maybe two years. what is amazing to watch with this spectacle is to see john bolton sitting there with president trump. john bolton has made an entire career of never talking to people who he has the slightest disagreement with. here we have the president doing whatjohn bolton, the national security adviser, doing the unthinkable. what is bankable and what do you think we will hear in the next half an hour, hour, two hours or so —— thinkable. i think north korea will do as they've done before. they will say they've done before. they will say they do not one nuclear weapons and would like to get rid of them and will work with the americans as to when that will happen —— want nuclear weapons. they will talk

about the us hostile policy. the fa ct about the us hostile policy. the fact the us has troops in south korea. there might be a hint from the north koreans they would like to see the change in the threats against them. but frankly i don't think they will be calling for the withdrawal of us troops from south korea, certainly not today. as the north koreans leave this meeting in singapore, they will have a huge boost to. i mean, there are going to be other leaders of countries, major powers, wanting to talk to kim jong—un —— huge boost. this is a huge boost in. they will tribute the boost to the fact they have nuclear weapons and nuclear ambitions —— this is a huge boost. meanwhile they will figure out how to avoid any commitments to get rid of them. you lead the delegation on the six party talks on the north korea nuclear issue. a lot has been spoken about on the model of iran and the lifting of sanctions. and their

justified parallels? —— are there. the iran deal is so much more advanced than anything we will see here. they took the material out of the country. with north korea, we got them to denuclearise and rejoin the organisation as a non—nuclear state, and to do that in a rapid time sequence, though the north koreans never accepted anytime. we also got them to shut down nuclear reactors. we never got them to declare their complete nuclear programme. we also never got them to talk about the uranium enrichment

programme or even a verification protocol worthy of mentioning. for example, us saying we want to look at that tomorrow. events today, as historic as they are, they have not come close to these things, the iran deal. it is hard to take, the notion that somehow this deal will be better than the iran deal, which trump called the worst ever. these words have been talked about by mike pompeo, the complete denuclearisation of north korea, verifiably. 0ne denuclearisation of north korea, verifiably. one thing that has also

eluded them is this peace treaty. i am wondering what you believe will be the state of play when it comes to putting it in official end to the war between the us and north korea. isa war between the us and north korea. is a peace treaty likely? that is something that came up in 2005, and if you look at the 2005 agreement, it directly affected parties in china, the us, south korea, north korea. would be north koreans let the south be a part, and we would not do it without them. the chinese used the phrase directly affected parties. they negotiated a peace treaty in a separate forum. it was

something the north koreans asked for. as soon as we got into the agreement they lost interest. we followed up with them and they lost interest in pursuing it. it is a bit ofa interest in pursuing it. it is a bit of a red herring. it is talked about a lot. but it is the concept somehow north korea, only something like a peace treaty will change that with the us. i do not think they have ever had anything to fear, not the 28,000 us troops in south korea, but it stands a metaphor for the fear of north korea that they need nuclear weapons because the us will invade them. president trump is very interested in having a peace treaty. after all, that is the stuff that

nobel peace prizes are won on, not just denuclearisation. ambassador, so good a view to give us your time today. interesting to see the details. —— good of you. what did you think when you saw them shake hands? oh, boy, you can't do it in one word. 0n the one hand, you think this is worth it. on the other hand, when you see the us flag next to the north korean flag, you think what is going on? most of us cannot get the quebec g7 summit out of our minds, and how we have talked to allies. frankly, i cannot say it in one word, not even one paragraph. you

did a good job of summing it up anyway. what on earth is going on? that remains to be seen. they are speaking behind closed doors. some information. a correction on the time they spent in a one—to—one formal meeting, 38 minutes, to be precise. bear in mind interpreters we re precise. bear in mind interpreters were involved, causing a delay. i would reduce it to about 15—18 minutes of conversation. the world is watching. we are getting reaction from south korea and we will bring you the statement in a minute. first, our tokyo correspondent, rupert. i want your expertise. you we re rupert. i want your expertise. you were at the dmz following the meeting of the two korean leaders as

they met. and shinzo abe and his dialogue with donald trump, is it going to plan? talk us through it. yeah, that is a very multifaceted and complicated question to answer, babita. the countries around this region, on the whole, china, japan, korea, russia, all of the involved parties will look at if broadly favourably in that it is pulling the world away from a possible conflict on the korean peninsula when you think about six months ago, the end of last year. —— look at it. i was standing ona of last year. —— look at it. i was standing on a us aircraft carrier with talk of a potential military strike happening at any time against north korea to take out military capabilities. and now behind me they are sitting down and having lunch together soon and smiling and shaking hands and talking about a

tremendous relationship with great discussions going on. in terms of atmospherics, there is a massive change, and that will be welcome everywhere. country by country around the region, different attitudes. the president of south korea, president moon, he is very happy, as he once peace on the korean peninsula, his number one mission. china will be looking on with a degree of concern. china has very, very real interests in what happens on its border and on the korean peninsula. it wants to see a reduction in tensions, but it also wa nts to reduction in tensions, but it also wants to see its concerns kept in place. it is part of the dialogue and negotiations, and it does not wa nt and negotiations, and it does not want north korea forming a new friendship with america with china

losing influence. japan, shinzo abe, the prime minister, has been to see donald trump seven times in the last 1.5 years and twice in the last few months. japan is very concerned the president could leave out the concerns of japan. number one president could leave out the concerns ofjapan. number one is short—range missiles which can hit japan, an north korea has hundreds of those. and whether or not the hundreds of abductees from japan in north korea will be given back. a complicated picture. you did a brilliantjob. complicated picture. you did a brilliant job. thank you. complicated picture. you did a brilliantjob. thank you. we will get reaction from international world leaders soon. the south korean leader himself is due to hold a press co nfe re nce leader himself is due to hold a press conference soon. leader himself is due to hold a press conference soon. donald trump is expected to be there at four o'clock. you are watching special coverage from singapore, covering the special summit between donald trump and kimjong—un.

hello there. for many days, even weeks now, our weather has been stuck in a rut. long spells of warm sunshine, and just the odd thunderstorm. but, at long last, things are changing. you may not like the change because firstly we're bringing some cooler air in from the north. and then, from the atlantic, through the middle part of the week, we're going to bring quite an active frontal system, an area of low pressure, that will bring some wet and very windy weather, particularly across the north. that will be a bit of a shock to the system. but the changes are already under way. some cooler conditions through the day ahead. quite a lot of cloud around as well. that cloud will break up through the day, so we will see some spells of sunshine. the best of these likely to be found across parts of wales and the south—west. equally, just the odd scattered showers, but those temperatures down on where they have been. highs of between 15 and 21 degrees. no more mid—20s. now, during tuesday night, we'll see a mixture of clear skies and patchy cloud. it should stay just about dry. it's going to turn into

a relatively cool night. temperatures in quite a few places should get down into single digits. we go into wednesday and we start off on a fine note, but frontal systems approaching from the north—west. more on that in a moment. we start wednesday, though, with high pressure across the british isles. so actually not a bad start to the day. good spells of the shine to be had. perhaps just the odd shower breaking out as cloud builds up through the day. but, up to the north—west, you will already have spotted this. quite a significant change. rain into northern ireland, western scotland by the end of the day. strengthening winds as well. and as we go through wednesday night, a spell of very disturbed weather. very heavy rain pushing in from the west. really strong winds as well. wind gusts easily 40—50mph. but perhaps through the central belt, those wind gusts as strong as 60 mph.

we will keep you posted on that forecast for wednesday night into thursday. it all comes courtesy of this, an unusually deep area of low pressure for the time of year. but it will drift away fairly quickly during thursday. so the winds will ease, much of the rain will clear away. and actually things should brighten up through the day. but it is again going to feel relatively cool. those temperatures at best between 15 and 21 degrees. then, as we head towards the end of the week, we stick with that cooler feel. yes, there will be some dry weather. there will be some spells of sunshine, but also spells of rain at times. that's all from me for now. this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump and kim jung—un are holding historic talks in singapore to discuss peace and denuclearisation on the korean peninsula. after meeting and shaking hands on a red carpet at a the summit venue at the capella hotel

on sentosa, the two men then held one—to—one talks for around 38 minutes. they thenjoined senior advisers and officials. before starting the talks, mr trump said the meeting was going to be tremendously successful. mr kim said the two men had overcome the prejudices that had acted as obstacles to the meeting going ahead. the much anticipated summit follows a year of exchanging threats, and many months of diplomatic twists and turns.