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Leaders’ departures bring curtains down on a historic summit; now the hard work begins

SINGAPORE — Now the hard work begins: The leaders of the United States and North Korea left Singapore on Tuesday (June 12) evening, bringing the curtain down on a historic summit that turned the world’s spotlight on Singapore for three days.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set off from St Regis Hotel at 10.22pm. His convoy arrived at the VIP Complex at Changi Airport at 10.56pm, and left for Pyongyang via an Air China flight at about 11.25pm.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set off from St Regis Hotel at 10.22pm. His convoy arrived at the VIP Complex at Changi Airport at 10.56pm, and left for Pyongyang via an Air China flight at about 11.25pm.

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SINGAPORE — Now the hard work begins: The leaders of the United States and North Korea left Singapore on Tuesday (June 12) evening, bringing the curtain down on a historic summit that turned the world’s spotlight on Singapore for three days.

President Donald Trump made his way to Paya Lebar Airbase at 5.28pm from Capella Hotel on Sentosa after a press conference, and took off on Air Force One at 6.24pm.

His plane will make two brief stops in Guam and Hawaii before landing in Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

President Donald Trump made his way to Paya Lebar Airbase at 5.28pm from Capella Hotel on Sentosa after a press conference, and took off on Air Force One at 6.24pm. Photo: MCI

Hours later, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set off from St Regis Hotel at 10.22pm. His convoy arrived at the VIP Complex at Changi Airport at 10.56pm, and left for Pyongyang via an Air China flight at about 11.25pm.

According to flight-tracking site Flightradar24, the Boeing 747 on which he flew to Singapore landed at Changi at 6.32pm.

Delegations from both sides will now have to get to work implementing details from the agreement signed in Singapore. The US committed to providing security guarantees to North Korea, which in turn committed to work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set off from St Regis Hotel at 10.22pm. His convoy arrived at the VIP Complex at Changi Airport at 10.56pm, and left for Pyongyang via an Air China flight at about 11.25pm. Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY

Mr Kim’s departure time was earlier reported to be 2pm and, by 1pm, more than 20 reporters were already staking out by the road leading to the VIP Complex.

Dozens of members of the public managed to catch his motorcade arriving at Changi at night but those who showed up earlier in the day left disappointed.

Chung Cheng High School (Main) student Vareck Ng, 16, was there with his mother and younger sister in the afternoon.

He had been revising for his O-Level examinations but his phone kept buzzing with updates from friends who are transport enthusiasts and who had gone to Sentosa in the morning to catch the leaders’ motorcades.

Madam Karyn Lee, 47, a part-time art teacher, waiting with her children to catch a glimpse of Mr Kim Jong-un’s motorcade outside Changi Airport’s VIP Complex. Photo: Wong Pei Ting/TODAY

His mother, Madam Karyn Lee, agreed to accompany him to Changi. “I already saw that he couldn’t concentrate. (The decision came) rather spontaneously,” Madam Lee, 47, a part-time art teacher, told TODAY as they waited with reporters under the sun for close to two hours.

Vareck developed an interest in North Korean affairs and transportations systems last year, she added.

Coach driver Xavier Shieh was also at Changi around 2pm, hoping to witness “a moment in history”. But Mr Shieh, 62, did not manage to catch Mr Kim’s departure as he needed to ferry a group of visitors from China who had arrived.

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