SINGAPORE — Hours before he was due to meet with United States president Donald Trump at a historic summit in Singapore, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took a trip to see the city's tourist sites on Monday (June 11) night.

Mr Kim, whose itinerary has been kept highly classified since he arrived in Singapore on Sunday afternoon, left St Regis Singapore hotel — where he is staying for the duration of the summit — at about 9pm.

He then made his way to his first stop, Gardens by the Bay, before adjourning to the 57th storey SkyPark observation deck at Marina Bay Sands. He was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung.

His first stop was the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay. While the public entrance was cordoned off, the contingent — comprising about 30 people — showed up inside the dome, likely through an internal route.

Curious onlookers and members of the media could only catch a glimpse of the North Korean leader through glass panels several metres away.

At the Jubilee Bridge, which links the Merlion park with the promenade in front of the Esplanade, there was also a crowd of people including tourists and passers-by, who had gathered almost an hour before Mr Kim arrived at around 10.15pm.

The bridge was temporarily blocked as Mr Kim made his way there, and he posed with Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Ong for wefies during their stroll, as they did at the gardens earlier.

As he was making his way down from the bridge, someone from the crowd shouted: "What can you tell us about the progress of the summit?"

Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY

This is Mr Kim's first appearance in public since meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Sunday evening.

The North Korean leader 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. He is expected to leave Singapore on Tuesday afternoon.

While Mr Kim was taking in the sights on Monday evening, drama erupted at Tanglin Road just moments before his convoy left St Regis for Gardens by the Bay.

Screams were heard around 9pm in front of the Crab in Da Bag food outlet along Nassim Road, which is diagonally across the street from the hotel.

When TODAY arrived at the scene, at least three people — including a woman with a backpack — were seen embroiled in a fracas with police officers. They appeared to be resisting arrest, and were heard shouting in Korean.

The tussle with police officers drew curious onlookers and journalists who were awaiting the departure of Mr Kim for his evening tour. A policeman then approached the media, including TODAY, and requested that they stop filming as the trio were "under investigation", and to move away from the spot.

TODAY has reached out to the police for comment.