Singapore Says It Spent $12 Million on Trump-Kim Summit

Singapore said today it spent 16.3 million Singapore dollars (USD 12 million) on the historic U.S.-North Korea summit, adding the total bill was less than initially anticipated. The Singapore government declared the costs of the high-profile summit after citizens in the city-state complained about the high cost.

U.S. President Donald Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong-Un met in Singapore on June 12 for talks aimed at ending a tense nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula. The meeting was the culmination of a rapid detente between Pyongyang and Washington and saw the two leaders sign a joint declaration which included Kim Jong-Un commit to working towards denuclearisation, although critics noted the agreement was vague and non-binding.

Singapore, an affluent financial hub, was chosen as the summit venue due to its warm ties with both the U.S. and North Korea, and reputation for strict order.

But some Singaporeans thought welcoming the mercurial leaders was more an annoyance than an honour, particularly when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong estimated the tiny state would have to shell out 20 million dollars (USD 14.7 million) to host the meeting.

PM Lee had told reporters during a visit to the international media centre that the summit was Singapore's contribution to an international endeavour that was "in our profound interest". "It is a cost we are willing to pay," he said, adding that security costs accounted for about half the cost of the total budget. He had explained that the security requirements were much higher than for previous meetings because of the profile of the summit.

However, in the end, the cost incurred by the government was about 16.3 million Singapore dollars, the biggest part of which was spent on security, said a ministry of foreign affairs spokesman in a statement.

It noted that Singapore had "supported the international efforts to achieve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula".

Media spending was around $4 million, says a Ministry of Communications and Information spokesman.

Tightly-controlled Singapore rolled out a massive security operation for the meeting, deploying thousands of police, setting up road-blocks and banning flares and loudhailers near summit venues to prevent protests.

As well as the security operation, the Singapore government footed the bill for the delegation from the sanctions-hit North Korea, including Kim's stay at the luxury St. Regis hotel, according to the BBC.

The security clampdown was disruptive for many residents in the usually placid city-state of 5.6 million -- although some observers said hosting the summit and the consequential global media exposure amounted to a PR coup that would ultimately benefit Singapore. (With Agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 24, 2018 11:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).