TRUMP, KIM TO MEET on the 'Island Behind Death'
Kate Seamons
(Newser) – President Trump and Kim Jong Un's summit will take place on the "island behind death"—a former pirate haunt that once went by that fearsome name ("Pulau Blakang Mati") but is now a luxurious tourist destination, reports the BBC. Sentosa is one of the 63 islands composing Singapore, and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Tuesday that the summit would be held at the five-star Capella Hotel on it. It's set to begin at 9am on June 12 (Singapore is 12 hours ahead of East Coast time). As for why Sentosa, the BBC explains: "Access to the island can easily be controlled— there is just a cable car, a monorail, a pedestrian causeway and a vehicle tunnel."
The resort's 112 rooms range from roughly $500 to $7,500 a night and have hosted the likes of Madonna and Lady Gaga, per the AFP, but Trump and Kim apparently won't occupy any of them: Sentosa is just a quarter-mile from Singapore's main island, where the two are planning to stay, Trump likely at the Shangri-La Hotel and Kim, it is believed, at the St. Regis Singapore. The AP reports the preparation is apparently underway, with workers seen putting a new coat of paint of the building's façade Tuesday night and extra security present. The AFP notes the hotel "has been booked out" between now and the start of the summit.