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The Trump-Kim Summit: Five Of The Most Bizarre Moments From The Historic Summit

'A form of fantasy from a science fiction movie.'

The high stakes summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un was always going to be a bit bizarre, given that just a couple of months ago the two men were throwing insults at each other and threatening nuclear war.

The two men became the first sitting leaders of the US and North Korea to meet face-to-face, concluding their historic meeting by signing a joint agreement.

The agreement does not appear to contain any firm promises from Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapon programme, but opens the door to ongoing discussions. In turn, Washington committed to provide security guarantees for North Korea.

But despite the semblance of diplmacy, this was not a normal summit. From a crying Dennis Rodman, to Trump’s bizarre request to photographers – here are some of the strangest moments from the historic meeting:

The awkward handshake

Kim looks happy during their historic 12 second handshake.
POOL New / Reuters
Kim looks happy during their historic 12 second handshake.

The much anticipated handshake lasted around 12 seconds while the men stood on a red carpet flanked with US and North Korean flags.

There wasn’t much of Trump’s usual arm yanking, and instead the US president gently held Kim’s elbow – but it still went on uncomfortably long.

Kim greeted Trump by saying “Nice to meet you, Mr President” in English, according to South Korean media.

Kim hits the nail on the head

As they walked away together after shaking hands, Kim said what we were all thinking as the pair head towards a room to talk privately, just the two of them, before a working lunch.


Many people in the world will think of this as a form of fantasy from a science fiction movie.
Kim Jong Un

Kim and Trump walk the red carpet.
POOL New / Reuters
Kim and Trump walk the red carpet.

Trump wants to look ‘handsome and perfect’

Before sitting down for their working lunch (which was oddly early, at 11:30am local time), Trump addressed something very important.

He asked the photographers: “Getting a good picture everybody? So we look nice and handsome and thin and perfect?”

While Kim gave a fantastic side eye, a woman off camera can be heard saying they look “beautiful and young”.

Showing off The Beast

Trump made an unscheduled stop to show off his presidential limousine, known as The Beast.

After lunch, the US president gestured towards the the $1.6m vehicle, which is designed to survive a military-style or chemical warfare attack.

A Secret Service agent opened the passenger door for Kim to have a peek inside.

Dennis Rodman gets emosh

Dennis Rodman, the retired US basketball star who struck up an unlikely friendship with Kim, appeared on CNN and wept as he spoke of his happiness that Kim and Trump met, saying he felt “vindicated”.

Speaking from Singapore, he said he was the only one who believed things would change between North Korea and the US.


I'm so happy just to be here, man, and see everyone in the world get emotional like I did.
Dennis Rodman

On social media, some people were surprised by his choice of t-shirt, which promotes a marijuana-focussed cryptocurrency.

However, earlier Rodman had tweeted that he was sponsored by Pot Coin, who had flown him out to Singapore.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.