Trump and Kim start Vietnam summit with dinner
US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un have begun their high-profile second summit in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.
The pair shook hands for the media before heading to talks and dinner at the five-star Metropole hotel.
They are expected to discuss a roadmap for ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons in two days of talks.
There has been little progress on that and other issues since the first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore last year.
Mr Trump said he thought this latest meeting would be “very successful”. He denied he was “walking back” on denuclearisation. Asked whether a formal end to the Korean War might be declared, he said: “We’ll see.”
He said he looked forward to helping Mr Kim achieve a “tremendous” economic future for his country.
Mr Kim, whom the US president described as a “great leader”, said he was confident there would be an “excellent outcome that everyone welcomes”.
“I’ll do my best to make it happen,” he told reporters, before the men sat down to eat.
Two reporters from news agencies Reuters and AP were barred from attending the dinner. At an earlier press conference, the two asked questions about denuclearisation and the forthcoming Congressional testimony of Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.
According to the Washington Post, only one US print media reporter – the Wall Street Journal’s Vivan Salama – was given access to the dinner.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the number of journalists had been limited “due to the sensitive nature of the meetings”.
Earlier, Mr Trump tweeted in praise of the host country, 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?
Wednesday’s meetings were limited to brief questions from reporters, one-on-one talks and dinner with aides.
It’s expected that any major events – the signing of agreements or significant press conferences – will take place on Thursday.
The two leaders will attend a series of meetings together, but their exact agenda is unclear.
Source: BBC