After long journeys to Vietnam yesterday, United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are in place for their second summit to address perhaps the world’s biggest security challenge: Kim’s pursuit of a nuclear program that stands on the verge of realistically threatening targets around the planet.
Although many experts are skeptical Kim will give up the nuclear weapons he likely sees as his best guarantee of continued rule, there was a palpable, carnival-like excitement among many in Hanoi as the final preparations were made for the meeting. There were also huge traffic jams in the already congested streets.
The two leaders are to meet over two days, first at dinner today followed by meetings tomorrow. Trump arrived late yesterday in Air Force One after a flight that included refueling stops in England and Qatar. He shook hands with dignitaries on a red carpet that was flanked by members of the Vietnamese armed forces dressed in crisp white uniforms.
The route to his hotel was decorated with American, North Korean and Vietnamese flags, and adults and children peered out upper floor windows holding up cellphones to capture Trump’s arrival. “Tremendous crowds, and so much love!” the U.S. president tweeted.
Kim’s journey to the summit, though shorter, was even more protracted. To get to Hanoi, he took a nearly 70-hour train ride through southern China and then traveled from a Vietnamese border town in his limousine.