We should welcome the news that President Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12. While Trump should have met Kim before now, rather than give the North Koreans more time to develop their nuclear warhead re-entry vehicle, at least a date and location has been arranged.
And the location is a great one.
After all, Singapore is a top U.S. ally that will provide every possible logistical support to Trump’s team and their accompanying staff. Indeed, Singapore’s government will see this as its best opportunity to earn the Trump administration’s favor. It also doesn’t hurt that Singapore has an array of five-star hotels a short location from wherever the summit will be held!
Yet, it is the security considerations that make Singapore most suitable for this visit.
For a start, Singapore’s highly trained and well-equipped military and security services retain very close links to their U.S. counterparts. That offers the Secret Service confidence of full host nation support in the event of a crisis situation. Singapore’s coastal location also gives the U.S. Navy the ability to station a carrier strike group in proximity to Trump (one is already on deployment in the region).
Worst case scenario: If North Korean special forces, a North Korean Thomas Becket, or breakaway regime hardliners (who might oppose Kim’s outreach) attempted a terrorist attack targeting the summit, Trump could be rapidly evacuated.
In broader terms, Singapore’s ISD intelligence service will also provide a security umbrella around the summit that mitigates hostile foreign intelligence service threats from spying on or influencing the summit. The Russians find the U.S. situation with North Korea particularly amusing and may see the summit as an opportunity to create issues for Trump or his team. China’s MSS intelligence service will certainly attempt surveillance on Trump and Kim’s meetings.
Nevertheless, the best argument in Singapore’s favor is that it isn’t the Korean demilitarized zone. While that location worked for Kim Jong Un’s summit with the South Korean president, it would pose significant risks to Trump’s security. The North Koreans or breakaway regime elements could launch an artillery blitz on the summit or surge troops over the border as it took place. While the risk of such an incident would be low, a probability assessment is very difficult because it remains unclear whether Kim Jong Un is rational or irrational.
Ultimately, Singapore maximizes the probability of a successful summit: It is safe, comfortable, a very close U.S. ally, and far away from North Korean military assets that could cause problems.
