‘1 in 10,000’

“No regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea,” declared President Trump, accurately, at his State of the Union address. Trump movingly recounted the grim plight of North Korea's oppressed population, telling the story of Ji Seong-ho, a defector who was tortured for trying to escape.

In Singapore, his view of the situation has changed radically. Gone were the days of "little rocket man" and "sick puppy" -- names Trump had previously used for his summit buddy.

Now Kim was praised as "talented", "very smart", a "good negotiator" who "loves his country very much", according to the US President, who even showed off his armoured limousine to the North's leader.

Few people could take over North Korea at the age of 26 and "run it tough", Trump mused. "1 in 10,000 couldn't do it," he added, with the caveat: "I didn't say he was nice about it."