New Delhi:
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will begin their second summit in the Vietnamese capital on Thursday. US side is seeking tangible steps by North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Trump and Kim had their historic first meeting in Singapore in June last year, where they agreed on denuclearisation of North Korea. Trump flew into Hanoi on Air Force One late on Tuesday. "Just arrived in Vietnam," he wrote in a Twitter post. "Thank you to all of the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds, and so much love!". North Korean leader Kin Jong-un arrived in the Vietnamese border town of Dong Dang in a heavily armoured train on Tuesday morning.
Ahead of his trip, Trump said he shared a great relationship with the North Korean leader.
“I think we can have a very good summit. I think we’ll have a very tremendous summit. We want denuclearisation, and I think he’ll have a country that will set a lot of records for speed in terms of an economy,” he told a meeting of governors at the White House.
In a tweet, Trump described the summit with Chairman Kim as very important.
“With complete denuclearisation, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse. Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!” he said.
“We both expect a continuation of the progress made at first summit in Singapore,” Trump tweeted Sunday.
North Korea has long insisted it will not give up its nuclear arsenal unless the US removes its troops from South Korea.
“...I tell Chairman Kim, he has a chance to have a country that is so vibrant, economically. Maybe one of the most in the world. He’s got a location that’s unbelievable. As a real-estate person, I’ve always done very well with location.
“But he’s right between China, Russia, and then on the other side, South Korea. So, they can’t touch each other unless they go through North Korea,” Trump said.
“I think it can be, really, one of the great - one of the great financial and economic countries anywhere in the world. So I tell him that. I said, ‘But you can’t do that if you’re going to keep nuclear (weapons). If you do nuclear, that can’t ever happen’,” Trump said.
Trump reiterated that he was having a great relationship with Kim. Trump said he was “not in a rush” to denuclearise North Korea.
