U.S. President Donald Trump said that his June 12 summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a "onetime" chance for the North, adding "but I feel really confident."
Trump made the comments on June 9 at a press conference on the sideline of the G7 summit in Quebec, Canada, shortly before departing for Singapore.
Trump also said that he would know "within a minute" if Kim was serious about giving up his nuclear weapons. He added that U.S. and North Korean officials have been working successfully together in Singapore to prepare for the historic meeting.
Meanwhile, a rare direct flight from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, arrived in Singapore on June 9.
The Air China Airbus 330 was believed to be carrying part of the North Korean delegation, joining the country's advance team headed by close Kim aide Kim Chang Son. Kim is expected to arrive in Singapore on June 10.
Singapore's foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan said in Beijing that everything was prepared for the summit and that "things will start happening within the next 24 hours."
Balakrishnan was returning from a planning trip to Pyongyang after visiting Washington earlier in the week.
And colorful former U.S. professional basketball player Dennis Rodman posted on Twitter that he planned to travel to Singapore to support his "friends," Kim and Trump.
Rodman has met with Kim in Pyongyang five times and has called the North Korean leader his "friend for life."
On June 7, the White House said Rodman would not play any official role in the talks.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told Fox News that Trump and Kim would have "an amazing conversation" without Dennis Rodman in tow.