Singapore on Tuesday unveiled a dedicatory medallion ahead of next week’s summit between the US and North Korean leaders in the affluent city-state, depicting, on one side- two hands clasped in a handshake in front of both nations’ flags and the June 12 event date.
On the other side, the medallion carried the inscription ‘World Peace’ in large letters, accompanied by the dove and olive branch motif, a biblical symbol of peace, as well as a rose and a magnolia, the national flowers of the two countries.
The meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un will be the first ever between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. After a war of words that lasted months, it aims to start a discussion on ending the North’s nuclear weapons program in return for diplomatic and economic incentives.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the standoff.
Last month, the White House also unveiled commemorative coins for the summit, making for an awkward juxtaposition when Trump canceled the event on May 24, citing Pyongyang’s “open hostility”, although he subsequently revived the talks.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sander on Monday announced the timing of the meeting, saying: "We are actively preparing for the June 12th summit between the president and the North Korean leader."
"We feel like things are continuing to move forward, and good progress has been made."
Sanders said that the White House "advance team" -- which features military, security, technical and medical staff -- were already on the ground in the Southeast Asian state.
They are "finalizing preparations and will remain in place until the summit begins," said Sanders.
She added that Trump is getting daily briefings on North Korea in the runup to the landmark meeting.
"I can tell you the president has been receiving daily briefings on North Korea from his national security team," said Sanders.
A small Southeast Asian nation with good ties to countries both East and West, Singapore tends towards neutrality, projecting itself as the region’s answer to Switzerland.
In 2015, Singapore hosted a historic meeting of the leaders of Taiwan and China, the first since victory in a civil war for the Communists in 1949 confined their Nationalist foes to the island.
The exact venue of the Trump-Kim summit has yet to be confirmed, although Singapore has declared a special event zone including its foreign ministry, the US embassy, and several large hotels, such as the Shangri-La.
Singapore retailers are also banking on the summit, with pubs offering themed drinks to lure some of the thousands of journalists and delegates expected to visit.
