11 images that show just how bizarre the Trump-Kim summit really was

The meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore was one of the most significant moments in world diplomacy in recent history.

It was also one of the most surreal.

Less than a year ago, Trump was threatening to rain down “fire and fury like the world has never seen” on North Korea, and Kim was calling Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard” and “carefully examining” plans for a missile strike on US military bases in Guam.

That’s what makes the images from Trump’s summit with Kim so striking. From smiling selfies to warm handshakes to an emotional CNN appearance by none other than Dennis Rodman, this summit had it all.

Here are the 11 most unforgettable images from the Trump-Kim summit.

Kim poses for a selfie with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Singaporean Education Minister Ong Ye Kung at a well-known nature park called Gardens by the Bay the night before the summit.

Kim and Trump meet for their very first official handshake to kick off the nuclear summit. It’s the first time a sitting US president has met face to face with a North Korean leader.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The two men seem to hit it off right away, and both Kim and Trump are all smiles.

Kevin Lim/THE STRAITS TIMES/Handout/Getty Images

Trump and Kim sit down for another quick photo op before retreating behind closed doors to talk business. Trump flashes Kim his signature thumbs-up.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Dennis Rodman makes an appearance on CNN live from Singapore. Wearing a red MAGA hat and a T-shirt advertising a marijuana-related cryptocurrency business, he breaks down crying, remembering his first trip to North Korea and how he received “death threats” when he came back to the US.

South Korea’s president and prime minister weren’t invited to the summit. So they watched the live stream back home instead.

Near the end of the summit, Trump and Kim take a leisurely stroll around the grounds of the Capella resort. It’s just the two of them — no translators, no advisers (Kim speaks English). After nearly five hours of meetings, they’re both still smiling.

Kevin Lim/The Strait Times/Handout/Getty Images

Kim and Trump end the summit with a dramatic ceremony where they sign a document pledging to work toward “a lasting and stable peace” on the Korean Peninsula.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

But before the actual signing, a North Korean official wearing latex gloves inspects Kim’s pen and swabs it down. Despite his thoroughness, Kim ultimately opts to use a different pen provided to him by his sister.

The two men leave the signing ceremony and head back to their respective hotels. As they walk out, Kim places his hand on Trump’s back — a clear sign of the warmth and friendship that has developed between the dictator and the president during the summit.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

After the summit, Trump gives an hour-long press conference, patiently taking question after question from US and international reporters. Trump praises Kim — a murderous tyrant who imprisons and starves his people and had his half-brother assassinated with nerve gas — as “very talented” and says Kim “wants to do the right thing.”

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

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