700_1KakaoTalk_20180614_113318501.jpg

On June 13, one day after the summit between North Korea and the U.S., the summit and its results are still making headlines on the front pages of Singaporean newspapers in English, simplified Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

By Xu Aiying and Yoon Jihye
Photos = Xu Aiying
Singapore l June 13, 2018

Even after the historic summit, the local press in Singapore is covering the meeting in English, simplified Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and foreign press, too, is busy analyzing the results.

The Straits Times, a Singaporean daily, put up a picture of Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un shaking hands under the title “First step on long road to peace” on its June 13 front page. The newspaper used 13 pages out of 25 to report on the summit. It called the summit “A big day in Singapore” and dealt in detail with the two leaders’ schedules.

The newspaper explained in detail the main summit results, such as the new relationship building between the two countries, efforts to establish a permanent and stable peace, the reconfirmation of the Panmunjeom Declaration and efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

The Nanyang Sin-Chew Lianhe Zaobao, one of the main simplified Chinese newspapers in Singapore, stressed that the meeting between the two leaders was a “historic handshake anticipated over the past 70 years,” under the headline ”Historic handshake opens new page of history,” on the front page on June 13.

In an article titled “Moon Jae-in establishes fundamental foundation for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the newspaper summarized President Moon’s statement issued after the meeting and a phone call with U.S. President Trump. It said that, “Moon will work as an important mediator between North Korea and the U.S.”

700_2KakaoTalk_20180614_113323312.jpg

Both Korean and non-Korean journalists report live on the evening of June 12 from the International Media Center at the F1 Pit building, provided by the Singaporean government.

The response from journalists from around the world went across the airwaves from the International Media Center on the evening of June 12.

Thomas Maresca from USA Today said, “It was kind of incredible to see something that doesn’t feel like reality almost. The meeting between President Moon and Kim was the first step of all this. The world has seen him in this new environment, outside North Korea.”

The U.S. daily went on to say that, “It was interesting to see the interest and reaction of the people in Singapore, who were waiting for Kim to come out, and the crowds were getting bigger and bigger. The summit is drawing attention from all over the world, not just the countries involved.”

There was also high praise on the results of the meeting.

Jeffrey Navarro from UNTV News and Rescue from the Philippines said, “It’s a big win for North Korea. I’m happy because it’s a chance for world peace. We, Filipinos, are extremely positive because there will be a guarantee that it won’t be dangerous in our region.”

xuaiy@korea.kr