The world watches in disbelief as Trump and Kim script history

There were some remarkable images that kept coming from Singapore today. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meeting and shaking hands several times over. That all the handshakes were initiated by Trump was not lost on anyone. If a prize had to be given for excellent PR, Trump would have won hands down.

So, where does it all lead to? Nobody quite knows. Although Trump says the US and North Korea are “ready to write a new chapter”, there are enough sceptics who will rule that out straightaway. And you can’t blame them. We have all seen and known enough of Trump to trust him. But could this be the beginning of a new chapter, a turnaround for Trump and his presidency? It might well be.

It was a different Kim Jong-un we saw today – not the one who walked with confidence and flamboyance as he crossed the South Korean border to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Military Demarcation Line, the first North Korean leader to do so since the end of the Korean War in 1953. We had pictures of his bodyguards running alongside his limousine, to provide the glamour and aura quotient.

Today, Kim was a little unsteady on his feet and nervous as well (there was a report that he even feared a threat to his life coming for this meeting in Singapore). But you have to give it to him. For a leader who hadn’t stepped out of his empire all these years to meet other heads of state, he carried himself very well and spoke the right language.

Trump came up with some extraordinary words of praise for the North Korean. Even before people around the world were digesting what was happening, he had announced the beginning of a whole new relationship, “a very special bond”. I was reminded of Gone with the Wind – Rhett Butler telling Scarlet O’Hara: “Take a good look my dear. It’s an historic moment you can tell your grandchildren about.”

Trump says the US will end war games with South Korea. How on earth can Kim’s commitment to denuclearize North Korea be taken seriously? Will independent inspectors be allowed access to the facilities and what if there are sites in North Korea nobody knows about? Will Kim give up some of his power (as is bound to happen when an economy opens up and people find more freedoms)? These are questions that readily come to mind. The experts will have many more. They are wondering why the North Korean dictator was given legitimacy when he did not deserve it.

However, Donald Trump specialises in deals and he is happy to remind people about it. “I do deals all the time,” he says unabashedly. The problem is, we all wonder how well this one is going to work.

Only a few months ago, Trump and Kim had traded insults at each other (“dotard” was a new one for me). And less than a week ago, Trump was shooting in all directions at the G7 Summit. Late-night host Stephen Colbert likened Trump to “a toddler who put a Lego in his mouth”.

In a picture that went viral, Trump seemed to be at the receiving end of a barrage of comments from world leaders (Angela Markel, Theresa May, Shinzo Abe and others) after he had rejected the final communiqué. Abe’s face in the picture says it all. And then, quite unnecessarily, Trump had to suggest that Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau was “dishonest and weak”. The Canadians couldn’t have been more upset. Trudeau, apparently, was against US tariffs and had promised retaliatory measures.

Trump, many say, is his own man. An extraordinary president with gumption, many will add. You cannot but agree. Leaders world over who have met him and seen him in action will agree. Including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hugs and ‘bromance’ have not translated into easing of visa restrictions, for example.

And what did Kim tell the world today? The world will see a major change, he said. We are all waiting and hoping. Hoping also that neither Trump nor Kim will do an about-turn. Trump says he will be inviting Kim to the White House soon. That could well be Scene Two.

What about China in the era of Xi Jinping, who wields enormous power within his country and in the region?  Will he be happy that Trump and Kim are trying to cosy up? Or will it now provide him wider berth – to do as he pleases in the South China Sea and the region as a whole? Yet another imponderable mystery. Especially when there are stories about China propping up the North Korean economy and polity.

Wonder what would have gone through the minds of Trump and Kim as they sat down for lunch together, complete with prawn cocktail, beef ribs, sour pork and avocado salad. Dramatic step forward for lasting peace and stability in the Korean peninsula? South Korea (Moon Jae-in confessed he couldn’t sleep the previous night), Japan, China and India, too, have all welcomed the initiative. Even Russia. What will unfold in the days ahead is anybody’s guess.

Am reminded of another famous quote in Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O’Hara saying, “After all, tomorrow is another day!”