In at least 32 countries around the world, one topic is driving the national conversation right now: the World Cup, which begins on Thursday in Russia.
President Trump has said he’ll know within one minute whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is serious about denuclearization. That first minute is rapidly approaching.
What to watch: The hours leading up to the starting gun have been an exercise in expectations setting. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was careful to note that while the summit is historic, its aim is to “set the conditions for future productive talks.” But even he can’t predict what will happen when the two leaders sit down, one-on-one, in just a couple of hours.
Following Jonathan Swan's scoop that President Trump is open to establishing official relations with North Korea, including potentially building a U.S. embassy in Pyongyang, Bloomberg View's Eli Lake writes that the U.S. “has historically viewed a diplomatic presence in Pyongyang not as a concession, but a benefit in and of itself."
The backdrop: The establishment of an unofficial embassy in North Korea was first presented to Kim's father, Kim Jong-Il, two decades ago by former President Bill Clinton’s defense secretary, William Perry. The idea, writes Lake, was connected to a broader proposal aimed at denuclearizing North Korea, but the deal was later rejected.
President Trump's first sit-down television interview after his historic summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is expected to be with his friend and confidant, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Axios has learned.
The details: Hannity is already in Singapore, and a source who spoke to him told Axios that Trump had promised him the interview.
Ahead of his meeting with President Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un surprised the people of Singapore with a public late night stroll.
The big picture: The dictator, known for extensive human rights abuses at home, received cheers from assembled crowds hoping to catch a glimpse of him as he walked through the modern metropolis. The stop in Singapore is just Kim's third trip abroad as North Korea's leader — with two trips to China earlier this year in order to prep for tomorrow's summit.
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned several Russian entities and individuals for their role in international cyberattacks spearheaded by Russian intelligence agency the FSB, including the NotPetya malware and attacks on the U.S. energy system.
What they're saying: "The United States is committed to aggressively targeting any entity or individual working at the direction of the FSB whose work threatens the United States and will continue to utilize our sanctions authorities," said Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a written statement.
The White House, saying that discussions with North Korea "have moved more quickly than expected," released an updated schedule of President Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, set to kick off in just under 13 hours.
The big things: Trump and Kim will kick off the summit with a 45-minute one-on-one meeting, but things won't last long — Trump is set to leave Singapore at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, just 11 hours after the summit starts
"Donald Trump’s New World Order: How the President, Israel, and the Gulf states plan to fight Iran — and leave the Palestinians and the Obama years behind," The New Yorker's Adam Entous writes.
Why it matters: "The Palestinians seem to be the likely losers in the new New Middle East. As a senior Arab official said of the strategic alliance, 'With or without a peace plan, it’s happening.' A senior Trump adviser said, 'Iran is the reason why this is all happening.'"
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined the United States' priorities for the historic summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un one final time for reporters in Singapore before the leaders come face-to-face: "The complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is the only outcome the United States will accept."
The details: He added that the U.S. is ready to secure North Korea during the process of denuclearization. Pompeo set the stage for the meeting, saying, "It's the case in each of those countries there are only two people who can make decisions of this magnitude and those people are going to be sitting in the room tomorrow."
As the curtain goes up on what may be the summit of our lifetime (9 tonight ET, 9 a.m. Tuesday local), a dispatch from Singapore for Axios readers by Frank Lavin, former ambassador to Singapore under George W. Bush, former National Security Council summit organizer, and now an e-commerce CEO based there.
The big picture: "When there's confusion or turmoil," Frank writes, "it's to Trump's advantage because his self-confidence is imperturbable."
Last year, Kim Jong-un fired off threats about attacking the U.S. and launched increasingly threatening nuclear and missiles tests — but this year, Kim has been meeting with world leaders left and right after six years of isolation.
Why it’s working — so far: Kim has been using his meetings with Seoul and Beijing to keep Trump’s interest in the talks up, and he's been playing world leaders off each other.
