In photos: Trump, Kim handshake starts historic summit; Trump predicts “terrific relationship” ahead

United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made history on Tuesday, June 12, becoming the first sitting US and North Korean leaders to meet and shake hands, as they seek to end a tense decades-old nuclear stand-off.

Trump predicted he would have a “terrific relationship” with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Tuesday, as the pair met for a historic Singapore summit.

“We will have a terrific relationship, I have no doubt,” Trump said amid smiles and backslapping that belied the decades of tension and blood spilled between the two Cold War foes.

North Korea and the United States have overcome the obstacles of a difficult history to hold their summit in Singapore, the North’s leader Kim Jong Un said as the unprecedented meeting opened Tuesday.

“The way to come to here was not easy,” Kim said, sitting at a table with Trump. “The old prejudices and practices worked as obstacles on our way forward but we overcame all of them and we are here today.”

The two men strode toward each other and shared the momentous handshake beneath the white-washed walls of an upscale hotel in neutral Singapore, before sitting down for a half-day of meetings with major ramifications for the world.

They shook hands for several seconds, Trump reaching out to touch the North Korean leader on his right shoulder.

As they sat down for their one-on-one meeting, the US leader predicted a “terrific relationship” with Kim.

The extraordinary summit was unthinkable only months ago.

Here are some of the photos during the beginning of that historic summit that was even considered unthinkable only months ago.

Agence France-Presse