Kim arrives in Hanoi for summit, Trump expected tonight

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday arrived in the Vietnamese capital after a 60-hour train ride from Pyongyang for his second summit meeting with the U.S. president for talks aimed at the denuclearization of Korean Peninsula.

Donald Trump is expected to set foot in Hanoi tonight at Noi Bai International Airport. His top diplomat Mike Pompeo also arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday.

Kim's 21-car train arrived at the Dong Dang railway station in Vietnam’s northern border province of Lạng Son, Hanoi-based Vietnam News reported.

Kim, who left Pyongyang on Saturday afternoon, is the first North Korean leader to visit Vietnam in 55 years since the trip by his grandfather Kim Il-sung, who founded the communist nation.

Kim traveled nearly 4,000km through China by train and then took a shorter journey to the summit venue in his bulletproof Mercedes S600 Pullman Guard. He is accompanied by his influential sister, Kim Yo-jong besides other officials.

Thousands of locals had gathered along the road to welcome him with flags and flowers, Vietnam News said.

Korean news agency Yonhap said that Kim checked into the five-star Melia Hotel in downtown Hanoi after a two-hour, 170-kilometer road trip from the train station. He will likely stay there through Sunday.

The two leaders will kick-start their summit meeting on Wednesday night at dinner.

Vietnamese authorities have taken tight security measures with police and armored guards deployed close to the hotels where the leaders are staying.

Yonhap added that North Korean officials accompanying Kim are maintaining high-level secrecy with regard to Kim's itinerary for the rest of the day.

"Heading over to Vietnam for my meeting with Kim Jong Un. Looking forward to a very productive Summit!" Trump tweeted before flying to Hanoi from Washington.

"We want denuclearization, and I think he [Kim Jong-un] will have a country that will set a lot of records for speed in terms of an economy,” Trump said.

"Made it to Vietnam for President @realDonaldTrump's #HanoiSummit with the DPRK," Pompeo tweeted, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"Will be an important opportunity to make progress on Singapore Summit commitments of transformed relations, building lasting peace, and complete denuclearization."

Yonhap said that Kim and Trump are scheduled to meet five times during their stay in the host country, however, the Hanoi summit will be similar in format to the Singapore summit, with a one-on-one meeting, followed by a meal and expanded meetings involving their aides.

The two leaders broke impasse last June when they held the first historic summit seeking an end to the nuclear program of North Korea while Pyongyang sought relief from UN sanctions in place since 2006.