The iconic Fullerton hotel in the heart of Singapore, is the site of an odd yet urgent logistical issue ahead of the Trump-Kim summit, according to a news report.
The United States is trying to figure a way to pay for North Korean delegation's stay without offending the nation, the Washington Post reported.
The June 12 summit between the US and North Korea has seen its fair share of controversy already when US president Donald Trump called it off a week ago only to make a U-turn later.
Fullerton is the five-star star hotel preferred by Kim Jong Un, and the nation requires another country to cover its costs whenever a delegation visits foreign shores, said the Post.
The US is on board with footing this bill — the presidential suite at the Fullerton costs $6000 a night — yet must do so without embarrassing or offending Pyongyang. An option is to ask Singapore to pay the bill. The Post report does not say how the city-state playing host to the summit might react.
It's not just Pyongyang's reaction the US staff planning the meeting is worried about. Any request to pay for North Korea needs written waivers from its own Department of Treasury and from the United Nations, given the sanctions the West has imposed on the DPRK. Any questions about the waivers could also go down ill with Pyongyang.
Lodgings are one problem. North Korea's Soviet-era plane may not make the 3000 mile trip to Singapore, said the report. If it needs to land in China, the summit planners will have to come up with a story for that, against to not embarrass the country.
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