US President Donald Trump thanked Singapore’s leader Friday for hosting his upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the city-state, the White House said.

Trump and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke by phone a day after the US president announced the date and location for his historic summit with Kim. 

“President Trump thanked Prime Minister Lee for his willingness to host President Trump’s June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,” the White House said in a statement. “President Trump said that he looks forward to seeing Prime Minister Lee in Singapore soon.”

The Southeast Asian nation was chosen from a list of potential sites that included the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas, Mongolia, and Switzerland.

Singapore is considered a neutral venue with the necessary security and media access to make the unprecedented summit a success. (Yonhap)