Kim arrives to warm welcome in Hanoi; Trump on the way
North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Dong Dang, Vietnam on today for the second summit with U.S. President Trump where they will try to reach an agreement on North Korean nuclear weapons programme.
Their talks come eight months after their first historic summit in Singapore.
There is likely to be pressure on both leaders to move beyond the low-motivational commitments they made in Singapore for complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
American critics have warned Trump against scoring a deal that would do little to restrain North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, urging specific, verifiable North Korean action to reject the idea of nuclear weapons that threaten the United States.
In return, North Korean delegation would expect significant U.S. concessions such as relief from punishing sanctions and a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.
A Grand Welcome
Kim Jong-un, who travelled from the Pyongyang by train, arrived at the station in the Vietnamese border town of Dong Dang after crossing over the border from China.
Vietnamese officials were excited to receive Kim at the station with a red-carpet including a guard of honour and North Korean and Vietnamese flags flying waiving.
Kim was accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, who has emerged as an important aide.
About a dozen bodyguards ran alongside North Korean leader’s car as he departed for the two hour journey to the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, where he’ll meet
Roads were closed off with Vietnamese security forces equipped with armoured-personnel carriers guarding the route to the city’s Melia hotel where he is staying.
Both Kim and Trump are also due to hold separate talks with Vietnamese leadership.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also arrived in Hanoi, prior to Trump’s arrival. He has been Trump’s top envoy in his efforts to improve ties with reclusive North Korea and has made several trips to Pyongyang as a top negotiator.
