The world knows by now that the upcoming Trump-Kim summit will be held in Singapore on June 12.

Governments, political observers, foreign affairs enthusiasts and the media alike are watching the latest developments with bated breath.

And naturally, Singapore, being the host country, has been placed under scrutiny.

Here's what some of the international media and wonks -- a.k.a. experts -- have to say about the pros and cons of Singapore being the host country.

Singapore not a good host country due to its media censorship

Politico 

About Singapore

"a country known for its repressive views on free speech"

Not a helpful host country when it comes to press freedom

"... nothing about the North Korea summit has gone according to any normal plan.

Complicating matters is the host country, which is one of the least hospitable to the media."

Security guards were scary 

"They didn’t get physical, which is something I was also worried about,” he said.

“Certainly they were not messing around in any sort of way. It was a bit startling.”

What a former foreign correspondent who once reported from Singapore says

“Singapore is hostile to journalists who write things about it that it doesn’t like. As far as staging an international conference is concerned, I don’t see why there would be any issues."

In a nutshell: Although both the US and North Korea have been keeping equally mum about the details of the logistics of the meetings, Singapore, a country that is Machiavellian when it comes to press freedom, is the perfect enabler.

Quartz

About Singapore

Singapore is a "bastion of censorship".

Quote from Human Rights Watch

“Beneath the slick surface of gleaming high-rises... it is a repressive place, where the government severely restricts what can be said, published, performed, read, or watched.”

2018 press freedom index cited again

"... the government has launched defamation and contempt suits against foreign and domestic media, and banned the Far Eastern Economic Review in 2006 over an article criticising the government."

Singapore a police state

"There, a single person demonstrating on their own can be deemed an “illegal assembly,” and people criticising the judiciary or late prime minister Lee Kuan Yew have been handed fines and prison sentences.

The government has also stoked fears of mass surveillance with a plan to install 100,000 cameras with facial recognition software on lampposts around the city."

Uncertain what will happen & Singapore is not exactly helping

"It’s unclear whether, when dealing with Kim, Trump will stick to the long-held US practice of insisting on improved human rights in North Korea as a proviso for better relations.

Singapore is unlikely to be an inspirational backdrop."

In a nutshell: Don't expect the host country, which has such a horrible track record in media censorship, to help much in pushing for the human rights agenda during the summit.

Why Singapore is the ideal host country

On the other hand, there are other reports (such as here and here), which seek to explain why Singapore managed to beat out Switzerland, Mongolia and the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea to host the summit.

The White House itself has also given its response to the question.

Joshua Kurlantzick, an expert from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), weighs in as well.

Efficiency & experience in holding high-profile events

"The city state indeed has for decades hosted a wide range of regional security summits for Southeast Asian states, and, increasingly summits involving officials from across the world.

Singaporean officials also have handled, many high-profile bilateral meetings, like the meeting in 2015 between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou."

Great facilities

"The country has an extensive array of hotels and other facilities whose staff are used to preparing for major events with tight security."

Rich & able to foot some of the bill

"The wealthy city-state also has said that it will assume some of the costs of the summit, a bonus that some other possible choices like Mongolia would not have been able to add."

Distance from North Korea

"The city-state also is much closer physically to North Korea than other potential sites like Switzerland or Sweden, which makes it easier for the North Koreans to travel."

Tight with both the US & North Korea

"... Singapore — like a number of countries in Southeast Asia — long has maintained ties with North Korea, as well as close links to the United States."

Low pressure meeting place

"... choosing Singapore reduces the expectations (slightly) of the summit, making it a (slightly) more low-key affair than if the two leaders had met in the DMZ or North Korea where the summit would have been even more dramatic."

In a nutshell: Singapore is great as a host country for it is near enough (to North Korea), rich enough (to provide for all their needs), neutral enough (to be friends with everyone without discriminating), and detached enough (for people to not expect too much from the meeting).

So, what's on the agenda during the summit?

US:

Long-held practice is to insist on full denuclearisation from North Korea, no way around it.

But Trump has described the summit as the start of a process leading to an eventual denuclearisation agreement.

He also suggested the possibility of a peace declaration, although South Korean officials were quick to play down hopes for that.

Domestically, some Americans want Trump to put North Korea's human rights issue on the agenda, but Trump might not do it for fear of derailing any progress towards denuclearisation efforts.

Japan also wants Trump to raise the abductions issue, but that's even less likely to happen.

North Korea:

Willing to talk about "complete denuclearisation", but probably will not agree to it so easily and early on in the meetings (assuming it is going to be a series of meetings).

Judging from Kim's sudden diplomatic offensive, he seems, at the very least, open to talking at the negotiating table.

Top image via Twitter

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