By Kim Jae-kyoung
SINGAPORE ― Is it a sign that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is interested in opening up his reclusive regime?
Or was it just his gesture to show his confidence ahead of a historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump?
These are some of the questions arising after Kim, who arrived in Singapore Sunday for the landmark meeting, took a surprise nighttime tour of Singapore's iconic sites, Monday.
After leaving the St. Regis Hotel at 9:10 p.m., Kim first visited the city-state's famous tourist attractions, including Gardens by the Bay, the award-winning nature park, and the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) integrated resorts.
The resorts accommodate casinos, hotels, convention centers and shopping malls. Kim visited the observation deck of the 57-storey SkyPark at the MBS.
During his two-hour tour, Kim, who was accompanied by his sister Kim Yo-jong and Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, took selfies with Singapore officials smiling for the camera and even waving to the public.
The Straits Times reported that Kim was seen strolling on the bridge ― surrounded by men in dark suits ― for about five minutes, before leaving in his motorcade at?10:25 p.m.?He arrived back at the St. Regis at about 11:20 p.m.
Experts said Kim's move is positive and is seen as his attempt to normalize himself to the outside world.
“Kim is projecting an image of openness and accessibility. That's good,” Joseph DeTrani, a former U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks with North Korea, told The Korea Times.
William Brown, an adjunct professor at Georgetown School of Foreign Service,?concurred.
“It's certainly a positive move. And he said he wants to learn from Singapore's economy,” he said.
“I'm not sure, though, that he will learn the right lessons. He may think he can get his army to build Singapore-like parks and skyscrapers and clean up the streets.”
He believes Trump would be the right person to give him real lessons. “Maybe it will be Trump,” he said.
The young North Korean leader, who took power in 2011, has shown his eagerness to develop the isolated country into a tourist destination similar to Singapore by housing a casino resort in the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone.
During his recent visit to the White House, Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, reportedly asked President Trump to make “investment support” for a casino and other tourist attractions in the zone.
“I think Kim is trying to humanize or normalize himself to the outside world by walking around Singapore,” said Sean King, senior vice president of Park Strategies.
“But he doesn't need such a tour for inspiration to open his economy. After all, he's already gone to school in Switzerland.”
Lian Tuang Nah, a research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, does not think the outing has any deeper implications.
“It's more diplomatic courtesy and being a gracious guest in Singapore than anything else,” he said.
“Certainly Kim would like wealth and development for North Korea but one must remember that his father also saw the sights when he visited China, observing a stock exchange and visiting a GM vehicle factory.”