South Korea, Singapore to boost economic cooperation; President Moon Jae-in State Visit, 11 to 13 July 2018

South Korea, Singapore exchange MOUs, vow to keep regional peace
Six agreements exchanged; both to review implementation of FTA, look at further liberalising tariffs
By Charissa Yong, Regional Correspondent, The Straits Times, 13 Jul 2018

Singapore and South Korea yesterday vowed to step up economic cooperation and work together for peace and stability in the region.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in witnessed the exchange of six agreements on trade, investment, industry, energy, environmental cooperation, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups.

Both countries will launch a review of the implementation of the Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement within six months and look to further liberalise tariffs for certain products, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.

Singapore and South Korea also reaffirmed their commitment towards the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, an ASEAN-led trade pact which also involves six of the grouping's trading partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

PM Lee said at a joint press conference: "We look forward to substantially concluding the negotiations by the end of this year."



PM Lee and Mr Moon, who is on a three-day state visit, met for more than an hour and discussed specific ways that South Korea could work more closely with Singapore, which is ASEAN chairman this year, and the other ASEAN nations.

Under Mr Moon's New Southern Policy, South Korea is seeking to expand ties with South Asia and South-east Asia.

Mr Moon said he and PM Lee agreed to expand bilateral trade significantly and to finalise swiftly negotiations to amend their double tax avoidance agreement.

Trade between Singapore and South Korea was $45.4 billion last year, making South Korea Singapore's ninth largest trading partner. Singapore is South Korea's 10th largest trading partner.

PM Lee noted that Singapore companies are showing growing interest in Korean sectors such as real estate, manufacturing, electronics, precision engineering, transport, food, and information and communications technology.

The leaders also discussed strengthening air connectivity. PM Lee hoped both sides could expand their air services agreement and increase flight routes to cover other South Korean cities such as Busan.

Referring to the six agreements, PM Lee said both sides are exploring new areas of cooperation where they complement each other.

For instance, they will work together on technologies such as medical technology, artificial intelligence and the industrial Internet of Things.

PM Lee said: "The Republic of Korea is strong in technology and innovation, while Singapore is well-connected to the region."

The two countries also agreed to joint ventures in smart-city projects overseas.

Mr Moon said: "Singaporean companies are strong in smart-city development and management software, while Korean businesses excel in hardware such as information technology. "

Working together would help both take the lead in the smart-city industry in Asia and beyond, the South Korean leader added.

Another area of cooperation is in energy security and smart grids, which are electrical grids that use technology to detect energy usage remotely.

The leaders also discussed ways to grow relations between ASEAN and South Korea, such as upgrading the ASEAN-South Korea free trade area or having an ASEAN-Korea air services agreement, said PM Lee.

Mr Moon said: "I would like to see Korea-ASEAN cooperation expand in dimensions completely different from the past."

Mr Moon, whose visit ends today, also discussed regional issues with PM Lee. They agreed to work closely towards peace and stability in the region, including in cyber security and maritime security.

Mr Moon said Singapore contributed immensely towards ushering in a new era of peace on the Korean peninsula by hosting the historic summit between the United States and North Korea last month.

"On behalf of all Korean people, I would like to once again express my profound gratitude to the people of Singapore," he said.

Trump-Kim Singapore summit, 12 June 2018

United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hold historic talks in Singapore

First step on long road to peace

• US and North Korea to establish new relations
• Both will join efforts to build a lasting and stable peace on the Korean peninsula
• North Korea commits to work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula
• US and North Korea commit to recovering remains of prisoners of war
By Rahul Pathak, Associate Editor, The Straits Times, 13 Jun 2018

On Sentosa, an island named after peace, the United States and North Korea yesterday signed a deal that they said would defuse decades of hostility between the two countries.

Calling the meeting between their leaders "historic" and "epochal", the joint statement declared that North Korea was committed to complete denuclearisation of the peninsula, while the US would provide it with security guarantees.

The US will also suspend its war games with South Korea to soothe nerves in the North. It will reset ties with Pyongyang, and North Korea's leader will be invited to the White House at an appropriate time.

The build-up to the summit, and the pact it would produce, had been breathless. Thousands of media personnel had descended upon Singapore and people lined the streets early yesterday to catch a glimpse of the motorcades of US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they made their way from their downtown hotels to the venue.



Mr Trump further hyped hopes of a breakthrough when the two men took a stroll across the lawns of Capella hotel and he was asked about how the talks had gone.

"Better than anybody could have expected, top of the line, really good. We are going right now for a signing," he told reporters before the agreement was unveiled.

But the vague wording and lack of details left observers divided over the document's place in history.

Some - including several world leaders - said it was the first, meaningful step in a long journey that could eventually make the world a safer place.

Others were underwhelmed and said it left key issues unresolved, with neither a timetable for denuclearisation nor the insistence that it be verifiable and irreversible.



Mr Trump, who said he had not slept in 25 hours while the two camps negotiated, dismissed such scepticism.

"It is a great day in the history of the world," he told the media. Facing questions standing on his feet for more than an hour after Mr Kim's motorcade had driven off, he added: "Chairman Kim is leaving for North Korea and as soon as he is back, he is going to start a process to make people safe."

In the meantime, the sanctions that have crippled North Korea's economy would remain, he said.

Interspersing his answers with an acknowledgement of his own abilities and praise for the man he had negotiated with - for 45 minutes in person, two hours with their teams and then over a working lunch of prawn cocktail, Korean stuffed cucumber, beef short rib confit and sweet-and-sour pork - Mr Trump waved away the lack of details in the document.



He said North Korea's denuclearisation would still have to be complete, verifiable and irreversible - something that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said, a day earlier, was the minimum condition for a deal. "I wouldn't have signed any agreement if they did not agree to that."

Mr Trump said there had been no time to incorporate those clauses in the document. "I am only here for a day," he added.

Asked about a timeframe in which North Korea would dismantle its weapons, Mr Trump refused to pin down a date. "We will do it as fast as it can mechanically and physically be done," he said. "It could take a long time."

He also touched on details that did not find their way into the short, written agreement. He revealed that Mr Kim had promised to destroy a nuclear missile engine testing site.

"I got that after we signed the agreement. I said do me a favour. You have this missile engine testing site... I said can you close it up. He is going to close it up," said Mr Trump.

The US has decided to put on hold the war games it routinely conducts with South Korea - a development that took some observers by surprise.

"The military exercises that we conduct are tremendously expensive. Our bombers fly in all the way from Guam... It is a very provocative situation (for North Korea). We will also save a lot of money," he said.

The exercises that the US conducts with South Korea have been a sore point with the North, which says they threaten its security.

Yesterday, Mr Trump, who turns 72 tomorrow, was willing to see the point of view of the 34-year-old Chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, whom he once dubbed "Rocket Man".



Saying that Mr Kim was committed to seeing his country become prosperous in return for giving up his nuclear arsenal, Mr Trump said: "He is very talented. They have never had a leader with the ability and confidence to get things done."

The endorsement came just seven hours after Mr Trump had first set eyes on Mr Kim.

The grounds of the Capella hotel were teeming with special agents - one American paired with one North Korean - when the two motorcades arrived in the morning. At 9.05am, the two leaders walked into the hotel courtyard from opposite sides of the colonnade and shook hands for exactly 12 seconds.

Mr Kim then spoke before a global audience for the first time beyond his backyard to say in Korean: "It wasn't easy to get here. We were held back by the past and blocked by old practices and prejudices. But we overcame all obstacles and here we are today."

The serious business of hammering out this agreement was conducted around a 79-year-old teak conference table once used by Singapore's chief justices which was even older than the Korean War between the two countries that broke out in 1950.

By 1.38pm, the document to cap the summit was ready for signing, Before that, a North Korean official wearing gloves appeared to clean and inspect the pen on Mr Kim's side of the table.

Mr Kim declared the agreement as a new beginning, saying the "world will see a major change".

Mr Trump said later that he had known immediately upon meeting Mr Kim that he was willing to make a deal. "My whole life has been about making deals, and I am great at it," he said.

So funny to watch the Fake News, especially NBC and CNN. They are fighting hard to downplay the deal with North Korea. 500 days ago they would have “begged” for this deal-looked like war would break out. Our Country’s biggest enemy is the Fake News so easily promulgated by fools!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

Congratulating both men on their joint statement, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote to them, saying: "It is a crucial first move in the long journey towards lasting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula."

Later, last evening, Mr Trump and Mr Kim boarded planes to their own countries for the next step on the long, sometimes rocky, road to peace.

Trump-Kim summit: $20 million bill to host US-North Korea meeting in Singapore

It's "a cost we are willing to pay", and Singapore must step up and do a good job, says Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ahead of landmark June 12 summit
By Royston Sim, Deputy Political Editor, The Straits Times, 11 Jun 2018

The bill for hosting the historic Trump-Kim summit will come up to about $20 million, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, adding that this is Singapore's contribution to an international endeavour that is "in our profound interest". "It is a cost we are willing to pay," he said, adding that security costs would account for about half that figure.

Speaking to the Singapore media yesterday during a visit to the international media centre, Mr Lee noted that the summit is a very major operation, due to - among other things - its scale, the number of journalists here to cover it and the level of security required.

The security requirements are much higher than for previous meetings because of the profile of this summit and the nature of what is being discussed, he added.



Delving into some of the details, he said it involves not just cordons of policemen around the meeting venue but "all-round protection and in-depth protection - air, sea, land, against attack and against mishap".

"So this is a very major operation, because it's a high-profile meeting and we cannot afford to have anything go wrong."

Mr Lee also said Singapore might be able to recoup some of the costs of hosting the summit. Asked to elaborate, he replied: "If you calculate the price of everything in this world, you will miss out on the real important things. And in this case what is important is that the summit is held, and we are hosting it, not extravagantly but with due consideration to costs, but making sure operational requirements are met."

Besides the security bill, another substantial part of the costs is from facilitating the 2,500-strong contingent of journalists here. A Ministry of Communications and Information source said that this - including the set-up of the international media centre at the F1 Pit Building - comes in at around $5 million.



The $20 million bill for the summit is a fraction of the $150 million spent each year to host past editions of the Formula One race.

The issue of cost has, however, raised questions among some Singaporeans, who have also chafed at having to contend with restricted access and road closures.

Asked about this, Mr Lee said that what is important to keep in mind is the significance of the summit and also what hosting it successfully could mean for Singapore.



It is, he said, not just a whole-of-government effort, but a "whole of Singapore effort", involving people ranging from press officers to bomb disposal unit experts.

It also includes ordinary Singaporeans whose lives have been "a little bit inconvenienced because roads have been cordoned off and traffic jams can happen - I hope you will understand this is for a good cause, it is a national effort, and I hope we will all be able to work together to show the world what Singapore can do".

Yesterday, Mr Lee also visited Singapore Armed Forces troops deployed at Palawan Kidz City on Sentosa, and the Home Team command post in Novena. "The officers have done a good job under very pressed circumstances," he said, pointing to the short notice given. It was only two weeks ago that it was confirmed the summit was going ahead.

It is not easy to find a suitable location to host such a meeting, observed Mr Lee, as both the Americans and the North Koreans must agree on a venue that meets their requirements and is politically and diplomatically acceptable to them.

"Therefore, when the two sides asked us to host the meeting, we cannot say no," he said. "We have to step up... We can do a good job."



The summit is a plus for Singapore, in terms of its reputation, its standing and "how people look at us", he added. "It gives us publicity. The fact that we have been chosen as the site of the meeting - we did not ask for it, but we were asked and we agreed - says something about Singapore's relations with the parties, with America, with North Korea, also our standing in the international community."

Singapore is one of the few countries that have diplomatic relations with both sides. Mr Lee added: "I think people will sit up and say, why is this meeting happening in Singapore, and they will draw their conclusions, and they will see how things are run. And I'm sure that we will be able to show what Singapore can do, so I think it's a plus for Singapore."

Singapore to host Trump-Kim summit on 12 June 2018 at Sentosa's Capella Hotel

** June 12 Singapore summit with Kim Jong Un is back on: Donald Trump
Singapore will play role to be good host, working to ensure smooth meeting, says Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen
By Tan Dawn Wei, Deputy Foreign Editor, The Sunday Times, 3 Jun 2018

It is all systems go: United States President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore, under the full glare of the world and the roughly 3,000 journalists who are expected to converge on the island state.

Mr Trump made the surprise announcement shortly after receiving Mr Kim's right-hand man and former spy chief Kim Yong Chol at the White House, where the North Korean general handed the US President an unusually large letter from his leader in Pyongyang.



"We are going to deal, and we are really going to start a process," said Mr Trump to reporters on Friday, adding that the summit on June 12 may not immediately yield an agreement. "Remember what I say: We will see what we will see."

Mr Trump also dialled back on the rhetoric, eight days after abruptly cancelling the high-stakes summit because of Pyongyang's "open hostility", softening his signature tough stance against the reclusive regime.

"We're getting along, so it's not a question of maximum pressure," he said.

The upcoming summit figured prominently at the 17th Shangri-La Dialogue yesterday after Mr Trump's confirmation of the date. Defence chiefs, top officials and experts gathered here for the regional security forum wondered if the summit would be held in the same hotel.

When asked by The Sunday Times how far along preparations were for the summit, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said Singapore would play its role to be a good host, and that various agencies are working hard to ensure the historic meeting would go smoothly.



"Many have commented that without Singapore, we would not have progressed so far. I don't respond to these comments, I just take it as an affirmation of the work that our officials have done to get us this far," said Dr Ng after he hosted a lunch for defence ministers, whom he asked for a show of hands about the upcoming talks.

"I asked them, despite all the caveats and some doubts, whether on balance this meeting between the US and DPRK (North Korea) was positive, and an overwhelming majority thought so," he said.

"It's a constructive and even a concrete step forward. Let's just hope and plan, and if it takes place, let's hope for the best."

Dr Ng also confirmed that Singapore will bear the security cost of hosting the summit, adding: "It's a cost we're willing to bear to play a small part."

North Korea's immediate neighbours took the news of the confirmed summit differently.

United States has no military option against North Korea: Experts

Twenty-five million reasons the U.S. hasn’t struck North Korea
The Sunday Times, 23 Apr 2017

TOKYO • If the US were to strike North Korea, Mr Kim Jong Un's regime would retaliate by unleashing its conventional weaponry lined up on the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that has separated the two Koreas for about seven decades.

And that conventional weaponry is reliable, unlike North Korea's missiles, and could cause major devastation in South Korea, which is a staunch ally of the United States.

"This becomes a very limiting factor for the US," said retired air force officer Carl Baker, who has extensive experience in South Korea.

As tensions between Pyongyang and the outside world have risen over the past month, there has been more talk about Washington using military force either to pre-empt a provocation or to respond to one.

Although most of the recent focus has been on North Korea's ambition to be able to strike mainland US with a missile, the South Koreans have been living under the constant threat of a conventional attack from the North for decades.



North Korea has "a tremendous amount of artillery" right opposite Seoul, said Mr Joseph Bermudez Jr, a senior imagery analyst at 38 North, a website focused on North Korea.

The Second Corps of the Korean People's Army based at Kaesong on the northern side of the DMZ has about 500 artillery pieces, Mr Bermudez said. And this is just one army corps; similar corps are on either side of it.

All the artillery pieces in the Second Corps can reach the northern outskirts of the South Korean capital, just 50km from the DMZ, but the largest projectiles could fly to the south of Seoul. About 25 million people - or half of the South Korean population - live in the greater Seoul metropolitan area.