Singapore's police state is tightening security for the Trump-Kim summit

Technicians install a surveillance camera at the entrance of Capella Hotel on Sentosa island on Saturday, June 9, 2018, in Singapore ahead of the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump an — (Image credit: Wong Maye-E/The Associated Press)

Singapore was chosen to host Tuesday's summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un primarily because it is one of few nations with diplomatic relations with both parties, the White House told CNBC.

But the city-state is also considered a convenient choice because its extensive surveillance apparatus makes for easier security preparations for the off-again, on-again talks. Singapore is known for its strict laws and harsh punishments governing personal behavior, including protests that otherwise would coalesce near the negotiations.

The venue for the talks is the Capella Hotel, a resort on Sentosa Island which has hosted high-level diplomatic meetings in the past. Locations that didn't make the cut include Switzerland, Mongolia, and the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.