US President Donald Trump yesterday met Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi, hours before Trump was due to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for their second summit.
Trump and Trong, who is also general-secretary of the ruling Communist Party, met at the grand, colonial-era presidential palace.
Trump was later due to have lunch with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Photo: AFP
Yesterday evening, Trump was scheduled to meet Kim at the Metropole Hotel, eight months after their first summit in Singapore, to discuss efforts to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Trump touched down late on Tuesday on Air Force One after flying halfway around the world from Washington, while Kim had arrived earlier, following a two-and-a-half-day train journey from Pyongyang.
On completing their marathon trips, the protagonists of international diplomacy’s most surprising “bromance” were treated to joyful welcomes from crowds of excited, flag-waving onlookers across the Vietnamese capital.
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, much of their schedule is shrouded in mystery and the summit has been preceded by few of the usual preliminary negotiations, with some of the arrangements still being ironed out in Hanoi on Tuesday.
Starting with a 20-minute conversation followed by dinner yesterday, then in more talks today, Trump and Kim aim to build on their startling initial meeting in Singapore in June last year.
“Thank you to all of the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds, and so much love!” Trump tweeted after reaching his Hanoi hotel from the airport.
Earlier, Kim got a similar reception from excited locals when he visited the North Korean embassy under heavy security.
“Trump is someone who has a strong character. His words are followed by actions,” said one admiring Hanoi resident, Le Dinh-hung, who carried a painting of Trump that he wanted to give him.
Long gone are the days when Trump ridiculed Kim as “rocket man” and Kim responded by calling him a “mentally deranged US dotard.” Now, Trump talks of “love” between them.
“With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse,” tweeted Trump. “Without it, just more of the same.”
With the US Congress investigating Trump for alleged illegal activities and also preparing to try and stop his controversial use of executive power to fund the construction of a US-Mexican border wall, the president would dearly like to change the news narrative by proclaiming a dramatic win.
Critics of Trump say that he is so eager to deal with Kim that he could give away too much in his desire to make headlines, even endangering long-standing allies South Korea and Japan.
In Singapore, Trump took his own generals by surprise when he announced a suspension of military exercises with South Korea — something North Korea badly wanted.
However, the time for empty gestures is also over, analysts say.
“The window for diplomatic progress with North Korea will not remain open indefinitely. The second summit ... must emphasize substance over pageantry,” said Kelsey Davenport of the Washington-based Arms Control Association.
Heavy rain and strong winds yesterday disrupted flights, trains and ferries, forcing the closure of roads across large parts of New Zealand’s North Island, while snapping power links to tens of thousands. Domestic media reported a few flights had resumed operating by afternoon from the airport in Wellington, the capital, although cancelations were still widespread after airport authorities said most morning flights were disrupted. Air New Zealand said it hoped to resume services when conditions ease later yesterday, after it paused operations at Wellington, Napier and Palmerston North airports. Online images showed flooded semi-rural neighborhoods, inundated homes, trees fallen on vehicles and collapsed
FRAYED: Strains between the US-European ties have ruptured allies’ trust in Washington, but with time, that could be rebuilt, the Michigan governor said China is providing crucial support for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and could end the war with a phone call, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said. “China could call [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and end this war tomorrow and cut off his dual-purpose technologies that they’re selling,” Whitaker said during a Friday panel at the Munich Security Conference. “China could stop buying Russian oil and gas.” “You know, this war is being completely enabled by China,” the US envoy added. Beijing and Moscow have forged an even tighter partnership since the start of the war, and Russia relies on China for critical parts
Two sitting Philippine senators have been identified as “coperpetrators” in former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), documents released by prosecutors showed. Philippine senators Ronald Dela Rosa and Christopher Go are among eight current and former officials named in a document dated Feb. 13 and posted to the court’s Web site. ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his “war on drugs.” “Duterte and his coperpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals in the Philippines
In a softly lit Shanghai bar, graduate student Helen Zhao stretched out both wrists to have her pulse taken — the first step to ordering the house special, a bespoke “health” cocktail based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). “TCM bars” have popped up in several cities across China, epitomizing what the country’s stressed-out, time-poor youth refer to as “punk wellness,” or “wrecking yourself while saving yourself.” At Shanghai’s Niang Qing, a TCM doctor in a white coat diagnoses customers’ physical conditions based on the pulse readings, before a mixologist crafts custom drinks incorporating the herbs and roots prescribed for their ailments.
RSS