North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited tourist sites on Singapore's waterfront hours before his historic summit with Donald Trump, as the US President took to Twitter to hit out at the "the haters and losers" who "called him wrong from the beginning". Key points: Kim Jong-un left his hotel for the first time since Sunday for sightseeing Kim Jong-un left his hotel for the first time since Sunday for sightseeing Donald Trump is said to be 'optimistic' about the summit with Mr Kim Donald Trump is said to be 'optimistic' about the summit with Mr Kim Meeting scheduled to start at 1100am (AEST) The two leaders will make history when they meet later today, holding one-on-one talks before a working lunch with aides. Ahead of the meeting Mr Kim's first stop was to visit the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore's famous waterfront park which boasts the largest glass greenhouse and tallest indoor, man-made waterfall in the world. Police and onlookers were also seen gathering outside the Marina Bay Sands hotel, which resembles a ship perched on three columns at the mouth of the Singapore River. Loading Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who accompanied Mr Kim on his tour of the sites, posted a selfie to Facebook with the North Korean leader and Singapore Education Minister Ong Ye Kung. According to South Korean media, Mr Kim was joined on his tour by his sister Kim Yo-jong and other top deputies. The totalitarian leader, whose family has ruled North Korea with an iron fist for three generations, earlier met Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong soon after his arrival on Sunday in the city-state. The Swiss-educated Mr Kim, who is believed to be 34, has not left his country since taking office in 2011 other than to visit China and the South Korean side of the border Demilitarised Zone, which separates the two Koreas. Given North Korea's "utterly appalling" human rights record, seeing Mr Kim walking around Singapore was "rather uncomfortable for everybody", Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said. "This is one of the concerns we have always had, that Kim Jong-un should be directing his efforts and energy and scarce resources to the betterment of his people rather than being a danger to our region and the globe." Trump berates 'haters and losers' United States President Donald Trump forecast a "nice" outcome for his meeting with Mr Kim. He tweeted that although meetings between staff and representatives were going well, "in the end that doesn't matter". "We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen! Loading "The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the US, say the haters & losers. We have our hostages, testing, research and all missle [sic] launches have stoped [sic], and these pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say! We will be fine!" Both sides are finalising preparations for today's meeting, which is due to kick off at 9:00am local time (11:00am AEST). The leaders are expected to talk one-on-one, with translators only, before heading into a larger meeting. In a statement, the White House said Mr Trump would speak to the media before departing for the US in the evening. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday's preparatory talks between the two nations had moved quite rapidly. "We anticipate that they will come to their logical conclusion even more quickly than we anticipated," he said, calling the summit "an unprecedented opportunity to change the trajectory of our relationship and bring peace and prosperity" to North Korea. However, he played down the possibility of a quick breakthrough and said the summit should set the framework for "the hard work that will follow", insisting that North Korea had to move toward complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation. Sanctions on North Korea would remain in place until that had happened, Mr Pompeo said. "If diplomacy does not move in the right direction … those measures will increase," he said. Mr Pompeo said Mr Trump was "fully prepared" for the talks, and was optimistic that the outcome would be "successful". The summit will be the first between a North Korean leader and a sitting American president. Sorry, this video has expired Kim Jong-un meets Singapore's Prime Minister ahead of the historic summit. (Image: AP/Wong Maye-E) 'Excitement in the air' The sense of anticipation was palpable as Mr Trump headed to meet with Singapore's PM on Monday, with people lining the streets waving mobile phones. Although gaps remain over what denuclearisation would entail, Mr Trump sounded a positive note at the lunch meeting, telling Mr Lee, "we've got a very interesting meeting in particular tomorrow, and I think things can work out very nicely". Mr Trump had earlier tweeted about the "excitement in the air". A woman takes photos next to policemen standing guard outside St Regis hotel in Singapore. ( Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha Mr Trump and Mr Kim arrived in Singapore on Sunday, both staying at luxurious and heavily guarded hotels less than 1 kilometre apart, with Mr Trump at the Shangri-La Hotel and Mr Kim at the St Regis Hotel. "The entire world is watching the historic summit between (North Korea) and the United States of America," Mr Kim told Mr Lee through an interpreter when they met on Sunday. Sorry, this video has expired Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un arrive in Singapore ahead of historic summit Adding to the excitement, former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived at Changi airport late last night. He does not have any official place in the talks and he told reporters he was not sure if he would meet with Mr Kim in Singapore. "I'm just happy to be a part of it because I think I deserve it, I think I brought awareness on a lot of things around the world, and I think North Korea has given a lot of people the opportunity to do this conference now. And I hope it's a success," Mr Rodman said. Last week, Mr Rodman said he would "give whatever support is needed" to his "friends" Mr Trump and Mr Kim. He is one of the few westerners to have met the North Korean leader on visits to the capital city Pyongyang and even sang Happy Birthday to Mr Kim during a 2014 visit. Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman has "hung out" with Kim Jong-un on several occasions. ( AP: Wong Maye-E AP/Reuters<doc-sep>South China Morning Post A US religious official was sanctioned by China on Wednesday for “promoting cults” in retaliation for an earlier United States sanction on a Chinese official over religious freedom. Johnnie Moore, a US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commissioner, and his family members will be denied entry to the Chinese mainland as well as Hong Kong and Macau, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press conference on Wednesday The decision was “in response to the US side’s blatant efforts to promote heretical religions and impose unilateral sanctions on Chinese personnel based on lies and false information”, Zhao said.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Moore, an evangelical leader and public relations businessman, had recommended through the USCIRF that the US Department of State continue to designate China a “country of particular concern”. In December, he announced his adoption of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying through the commission’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. The US Department of State issued the 2020 “International Religious Freedom Report” this month, including accusations against Beijing of suppressing Christians, Uygur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists. In marking the release of the report Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the sanction against Chinese Communist Party official Yu Hui, who was accused of suppressing Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Gong was founded in 1992 and banned in China as an “evil cult” in 1999. “He is designated for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the arbitrary detention of Falun Gong practitioners for their spiritual beliefs,” Blinken said. Blinken says China ‘criminalises religious expression’ as US releases report Blinken said Yu, the former director of the anti-heretical religions office in the southwest city of Chengdu, and his immediate family would be banned from entering the US. On Wednesday, Zhao said the US report was filled with prejudice. “The so-called US report ignores facts, is full of ideological prejudice, wantonly slanders China’s religious policies and seriously interferes in China’s internal affairs. China firmly opposes this,” he said.More from South China Morning Post:China’s foreign minister says EU parliament is wrong to tie investment deal to XinjiangXinjiang: China hits back with sanctions on US and Canadian politicians as international backlash growsChinese anti-cult official who targeted Falun Gong faces corruption investigationFalun Gong’s expansion plans for its New York compound adds to tension with neighboursChina steps up defence of Xinjiang policies and says sanctions are an ‘industry genocide’ designed to hurt businessThis article Eye for an eye: China bans US religious leader as payback for sanction over Falun Gong detention first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.<doc-sep>Kim Jong-un went walkabout in Singapore hours before his historic summit with Donald Trump, and even posed for what is thought to be his first "selfie". The North Korean dictator smiled as Vivian Balakrishnan, the city-state's foreign minister, took a photograph of them together on his mobile phone, which he then posted on Facebook and Twitter. Ong Ye Kung, Singapore's education minister, also squeezed into the historic selfie, his shoulder touching Kim's. It was captioned "#jalanjalan #guesswhere?" - the Malay phrade "jalan-jalan" means "taking a walk".<doc-sep>
North Korean leader's Kim Jong Un was pictured with Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan and education minister Ong Ye Kung on a night out just hours ahead of his scheduled meeting with President Donald Trump. The 34-year-old leader was seen leaving the St. Regis hotel where he is staying, courtesy of Singapore's taxpayers as the government has offered to pay for the hefty bill, and heading out on the town in his bullet-proof black Mercedes. Kim Jong Un met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong upon his arrival Sunday, but spent most of Monday in the $10,000-a-night presidential suite of the St. Regis until he left at around 9 p.m.—12 hours before he is due to meet Trump at the Capella hotel in Singapore's Sentosa island for the first-ever meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting U.S. president. Accompanying Kim Jong Un on the night-time sightseeing tour was his security detail as well as his sister and close adviser Kim Yo Jong, who arrived to Singapore on Sunday on a separate plane from her brother, and former foreign minister and ruling party high-ranking official Ri Su Yong, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. Kim Jong Un's outing in Singapore is yet another example of North Korea's efforts to normalize the image of its authoritarian regime that, for decades, was better known for its human rights abuses, nuclear weapons pursuit and belligerent statements. The picture Balakrishnan posted on his official social media accounts, captioned with the hashtag "#Jalanjalan" (roughly meaning "to go for a walk" in Malay) and "#guesswhwere?" [sic], appears to be the first public selfie of the North Korean leader. The Facebook page of the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore's iconic nature park, shared the picture, answering Balakrishnan's question. "No better spot for a historical #selfie" they wrote in the post advertising their venue. The sightseeing tour also included Singapore's iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel, where onlookers cheered the North Korean leader upon his arrival, shouting his name. Kim Jong Un's half brother Kim Jong Nam had frequently visited the location during his stays on the island state, as The Straits Times reported last year, before he was assassinated in Malaysia. North Korea's involvement in the murder is strongly suspected. The North Korean delegation visited another landmark, the Jubilee Bridge—where Balakrishnan took another selfie with Kim Jong Un—before driving through the port and heading back to the hotel, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Chun Han Wong.