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Tuesday, February 26, 2019, 14:26
DPRK's Kim arrives in Vietnam for summit; Trump on his way
By Agencies
Tuesday, February 26, 2019, 14:26 By Agencies

In this image grab made from video, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong-un (center) waves upon arrival in Dong Dang on Feb 26, 2019, ahead of the second summit with US President Donald Trump. (PHOTO / AP)

HANOI/ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s leader Kim Jong-un's armored limousine, surrounded by his phalanx of burly bodyguards, rolled into Vietnam's capital Tuesday ahead of summit with US President Donald Trump where they will try to reach an agreement on DPRK's pledge to give up its nuclear weapons program. 

Soldiers, police and international journalists milled around the Melia Hotel where Kim was set to stay, and crowds of citizens stood behind barricades hoping to see the DPRK leader. Above them, Vietnamese, DPRK and US flags fluttered in a cold drizzle.

Trump is set to land in Vietnam late Tuesday and will have meetings with the host country's president and prime minister Wednesday before sitting down later with Kim for a private dinner.

Trump will meet Kim for a brief one-on-one conversation on Wednesday evening, followed by a social dinner, at which they will each be accompanied by two guests and interpreters. That would be followed by more meetings between the two leaders on Thursday

Sarah Sanders, White House spokesperson, US

Trump will meet Kim for a brief one-on-one conversation on Wednesday evening, followed by a social dinner, at which they will each be accompanied by two guests and interpreters, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One. Trump will be joined at the dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, the White House said Monday.

Trump and Kim, who arrived in Vietnam Tuesday, will have a series of official meetings Thursday.

Their talks come eight months after their historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting US president and a DPRK leader. 

While there is no real expectation that the second meeting will bring a final deal on ridding the DPRK of nuclear weapons that threaten the United States, there are some hopes it could lead to a declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is at last formally over. 

But the United States would expect significant movement by Kim towards denuclearization in return. 

READ MORE: Denuclearization: US, DPRK to seek understanding at summit

In Singapore, Kim pledged to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but the vague agreement struck there has produced few concrete results. US Democratic senators and security officials have warned Trump against cutting a deal that would do little to curb DPRK's nuclear ambitions. 

Kim, who traveled from DPRK's capital by train, arrived at the station in the Vietnamese town of Dong Dang after crossing over the border from China. 

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s leader Kim Jong-un (center) arrives at the Dong Dang railway station in Dong Dang, Lang Son province, on Feb 26, 2019 to attend the second US-DPRK summit. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnamese officials were on hand to receive him at the station with a red-carpet including a guard of honour and DPRK and Vietnamese flags flying. 

Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, who has emerged as an important aide, arrived with him.

About a dozen bodyguards ran along side his car as he set off. 

The main road into Hanoi was closed off with Vietnamese security forces equipped with armoured-personnel carriers guarded the route. 

Officials in Hanoi said they only had about 10 days to prepare for the summit — much less than the nearly two months Singapore had before the first Trump-Kim meeting last year— but still vowed to provide airtight security for the two leaders.

"Security will be at the maximum level," Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung told reporters.

In this image grab made from video, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong-un waves from a car after his arrival by train in Dong Dang on Feb 26, 2019. (PHOTO / AP)

Kim is also due to hold separate talks with Vietnamese leaders. 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also arrived in Hanoi, on Tuesday, a reporter travelling with him said. 

Pompeo has been Trump's top envoy in his efforts to improve ties with the reclusive DPRK and has made several trips to Pyongyang to negotiate steps towards ending its nuclear program. 

Pompeo was due to met US Special Representative for the DPRK Stephen Biegun in Hanoi later. 

'TREMENDOUS' 

Trump told reporters he and Kim would have "a very tremendous summit". 

US President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One at the Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Feb 25, 2019, for a trip to Vietnam to meet with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. (EVAN VUCCI / AP)

Tweeting on Monday, he stressed the benefits to the DPRK if it gave up its nuclear weapons. "With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse. Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!" Trump said. 

The DPRK is also referred to as North Korea.

ALSO READ: Trump optimistic about upcoming summit with Kim

In a speech on Sunday night, Trump, however, appeared to play down any hope of a major breakthrough at the Hanoi summit, saying he would be happy as long as DPRK maintained its pause on weapons testing. 

"I'm not in a rush. I don't want to rush anybody," he said. "I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy." 

The DPRK conducted its last nuclear test in September 2017 and last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017. 

Analysts say the two leaders have to move beyond summit symbolism.

"The most basic yet urgent task is to come to a shared understanding of what denuclearization would entail," said Shin Gi-wook , director of Stanford’s Asia-Pacific Research Center.

"The ambiguity and obscurity of the term 'denuclearization'only exacerbates the scepticism about both the US and North Korean commitments to denuclearization.”

While the United States is demanding that the DPRK give up all of its nuclear and missile program, the DPRK want to see the removal of the US nuclear umbrella for the Republic of Korea (ROK).

A ROK presidential spokesman told reporters in Seoul on Monday that the two sides might be able to agree to a formal end of the Korean War, which ended in an armistice not a peace treaty, a move the DPRK has long sought. 

While a formal peace treaty may be a long way off, the two sides have discussed the possibility of a political declaration stating that the war over. 

"The possibility is there," the ROK spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told a briefing. 

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