What happened in Singapore on the eve of Trump-Kim summit?

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— Trump met Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as Kim did on Sunday, was feted at lunch with an early birthday celebration (his birthday is June 14), and then went back to his hotel, the swanky Shangri-La. Along the way, he offered “that things can work out very nicely” with North Korea.

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— The White House said Trump would be leaving Singapore early because the nuclear negotiations have moved “more quickly than expected.” It was not clear whether that was a sign of progress.

— North Korean and American delegations met at the Ritz Carlton., not once, but twice. Last-minute bargaining, leverage hunting and final protocol details perhaps on the agenda before their bosses shake hands and sit down.

— U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefed reporters, insisting Washington is prepared to take actions to provide North Korea with “sufficient certainty” that denuclearization “is not something that ends badly for them.”

— South Korean President Moon Jae-in has no current plans to join Trump and Kim at the end of their summit. Moon had expressed hope that the meeting will lead to a three-way declaration also including South Korea on formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War. But Moon has to be present when and if such a document is signed.

WHERE’S KIM TODAY?

— After staying out of public view at the St. Regis hotel for most of the day, Kim ventured out in the evening for a city tour that included the well-known tourist spot Gardens by the Bay. Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan posted a selfie of him and a smiling Kim wearing his trademark dark Mao suit. Flanked by bodyguards, Kim also visited the Marina Bay Sands resort. North Koreans were told by state media for the first time Monday that Kim is meeting Trump. One man exclaimed, “I know that Singapore is a very hot country so I wish that our respected marshal stays healthy and comes back in good health.”

THE FACE-TO-FACE

— Trump and Kim will start their historic summit at Sentosa Island with a one-on-one session with translators. After that no one really knows how it will play out. Anything is possible, from a grandiose declaration that the Korean War will be formally ended in the near future, with the far more complex lynchpin of denuclearization on the back burner, to a rapid collapse of talks with someone abruptly walking away. Stay tuned.

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Read all of AP’s summit coverage here: http://apne.ws/MPbJ5Tv

Tamer Fakahany, The Associated Press