Trump and Kim to start Vietnam summit with dinner

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) walks with US President Donald Trump (L) during a break in talks at their historic US-North Korea summitImage copyright
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Mr Kim and Mr Trump made history last June when they became the first sitting leaders of the US and North Korea to meet

US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un will begin their high-profile summit on Wednesday with brief talks, followed by dinner.

They are expected to discuss a roadmap for ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons during the two-day meeting in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.

Prior to his meeting with Mr Kim, Mr Trump will meet Vietnam’s prime minister and other politicians.

The pair are then scheduled to dine at Hanoi’s five-star Metropole hotel.

Mr Trump tweeted in praise of the host country on Wednesday morning, writing: “Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize.”

“The potential is AWESOME,” he added.

What’s the Trump-Kim schedule looking like?

Their first encounter will be a 20-minute one-on-one meeting at 18:40 local time (11:40 GMT). It will be followed by dinner with their aides, according to the White House.

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The two leaders will attend a series of meetings together on Thursday, but their exact agenda is unknown.

It’s expected that any major events – the signing of agreements or significant press conferences – will take place on Thursday.

  • What Trump wants from Kim talks
  • Trump and Kim in Hanoi: Your need-to-know guide

What has North Korean media said about their meeting?

North Korean state media praised Mr Kim for making the 4,000km (2,485 mile) trip, with state paper Rodong Sinmun dedicating four out of its six pages to it.

It said North Koreans had reacted to his visit with “boundless excitement and emotion”, and urged people to work harder to “give him reports of victory when he returns”.

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Media caption‘I really miss our leader’

The paper also added that his overseas trip had cause some of its citizens sleepless nights, with one woman telling a state broadcaster saying that she “really missed” him.

Why are they meeting again?

The Hanoi meeting is expected to build on the groundwork of what was achieved at the Singapore summit last June.

That meeting produced a vaguely-worded agreement, with both leaders agreeing to “work towards denuclearisation” – though it was never made clear what this would entail.

Little diplomatic progress was made following the summit. This time round, both leaders will be very conscious of the need to answer their critics with signs of concrete progress.

However, Mr Trump appeared to be managing expectations ahead of the summit, saying he was in “no rush” to press for North Korea’s denuclearisation.

“I don’t want to rush anybody. I just don’t want testing. As long as there’s no testing, we’re happy,” he said.

Washington had previously said that North Korea had to unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons before there could be any sanctions relief.

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Nothing concrete was produced as a result of the first historic summit

Why Vietnam?

It’s an ideal location for many reasons. It has diplomatic relations with both the US and North Korea, despite once having been enemies with the US – and could be used by the US as an example of two countries working together and setting aside their past grievances.

  • Why Kim will be looking closely at Vietnam
  • What North Korea can learn from Vietnam’s women

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Reuters

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Mr Trump waves a Vietnamese flag during a meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc

source: bbc.com