Vietnam‘s Hanoi is hosting the second summit between North Korea and the United States on February 27-28.
The denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and ending international sanctions against Pyongyang are expected to be the main items on the agenda in the discussions between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.
The two leaders held a landmark summit in Singapore last year, the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.
The June 2018 meeting produced a vague statement in which Kim and Trump outlined four commitments without an exact timeline: establishing “new relations” for peace and prosperity; building a “lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula”; working “towards denuclearisation”; and recovering and repatriating the remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
This time, the stakes appear to be higher amid growing expectations that the two leaders will need to make a more detailed agreement that will result in tangible progress.
Here are all the latest updates as of Tuesday, February 26:
‘Message of peace’: Trump-Kim mania grips Hanoi
From Trump- or Kim-style haircuts to burgers named “Kim Jong Yum” and “Durty Donald”, artists and businesses in Hanoi are hoping to showcase their skills, and cash in on the second US-North Korea summit.
Duong Le Tuan, a barber, says more than 600 people have visited his salon since he began offering free cuts in the hairstyles of Trump and Kim a week ago.
“I want to mark these historic talks with a message of peace,” Le, who lost two of his uncles in the US-Vietnam war, tells Al Jazeera.
Take a look at our photos from the steets of summit-mad Hanoi here.
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| The Kim-style cut is more popular one, according to Dong Le Tuan, because it takes less time and effort [Fars Ghani/ Al Jazeera] |
Trump en route to Hanoi
Trump’s Air Force One, en route to Vietnam, has reportedly made a refuelling stop in Qatar.
The US president is due in the Vietnamese capital on Tuesday evening.
US press corps booted out of hotel as Kim checks in
The travelling US press corps covering Trump’s Vietnam visit are asked to check out of Melia Hotel, in the heart of Hanoi, as it has also been booked by Kim for his stay in the Vietnamese capital.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry says the White House reporters, photographers and media workers are being relocated to an international media filing centre a few blocks away from the hotel.
Soon after, Kim’s motorcade rolls up to Melia Hotel.
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| Police officers stand guard outside Melia Hotel in Hanoi [Vincent Yu/AP Photo] |
The announcement of the last-minute switch prompts responses by US journalists on social media.
Translation: The US press is being booted out of the hotel where we have spent days setting up our workspace. https://t.co/UkkmskqBQe
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 26, 2019
A lot of work had gone into setting up this media center. Send your regards to the advance team who had to waist their time on this: pic.twitter.com/r4hLX9PyCg
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) February 26, 2019
South Korea hoping for ‘great progress’
South Korea’s presidential spokesperson has expressed Seoul’s hope for substantial progress at the upcoming summit.
“Given the schedule announced by the White House and the schedule we have come to be aware of, President Trump and Chairman Kim are expected to hold in-depth discussions in face-to-face meetings,” the spokesperson says, according to Yonhap news agency.
“I do hope there will be great progress as the result of their talks, result of North Korea-US negotiations.”
The spokesperson also reiterates the possibility of the US and North Korea declaring a formal end to the 1950-1953 Korean War, a day after hinting at it for the first time.
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| Kim’s motorcade heading towards Melia Hotel [Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters] |
Kim motorcade arrives in Hanoi
Kim’s limousine rolls into Hanoi, passing outside the city’s famed opera house just around the corner from the Metropole Hotel which is thought to be the summit venue.
Hundreds of citizens gather behind barricades hoping to catch a glimpse of the North Korean leader.
Soldiers and police stand guard at Melia Hotel, where Kim is set to stay.
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| People watch Kim’s motorcade as it passes the Opera House in Hanoi [Ann Wang/Reuters] |
Trump-Kim summit 2.0: Five things to look out for
How did we get here, what does each side want and what is the summit’s likely outcome? On the eve of the talks, all the key questions surrounding the meetings in Hanoi answered here.
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| An overcast Hanoi is gearing up to host the Trump-Kim summit [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera] |
After Kim, Pompeo also in Vietnam
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Hanoi, where he is due to meet Washington’s Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun later.
Pompeo, Trump’s top envoy in his efforts to improve ties with North Korea, has made several trips to Pyongyang to negotiate steps towards ending its nuclear programme.
Made it to Vietnam for President @realDonaldTrump’s #HanoiSummit with the DPRK. Will be important opportunity to make progress on Singapore Summit commitments of transformed relations, building lasting peace, and complete denuclearization. pic.twitter.com/V5cJ3rWuH1
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) February 26, 2019
Trump, Kim to hold brief talks, have dinner on Wednesday
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders tells reporters on Air Force One that 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.
She says more meetings between the two leaders will take place on Thursday.
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| Kim arrives at Dong Dang, on Vietnam’s border with China [Nhan Sang/VNA via Reuters] |
Kim arrives in Vietnam
After a long train journey through North Korea and thousands of kilometres across China, Kim arrives at the Vietnamese border station of Dong Dang.
Top Vietnamese officials are on hand to receive him at the station with a red carpet, including a guard of honour, with the North Korean and Vietnamese flags hoisted high.
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| Kim is greeted by Vietnamese officials and a gathered crowd [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters] |
Dressed in his trademark dark Mao suit, Kim disembarks from his armoured train, smiling and waving at a crowd gathered on a cold, rainy morning,
The North Korean leader steps into a black limousine surrounded by bodyguards who run alongside the vehicle as it leaves the station.
Roads are shut down from the border with China all the way to Hanoi, 170km away.
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| North Korean bodyguards run alongside a limousine transporting Kim [Reuters] |
Monday, February 25:
Vietnam pledges ‘maximum-level’ security
With Kim on board a train crossing China towards Hanoi and Trump about to board a flight to Vietnam’s capital, Vietnamese officials are scrambling to complete preparations for the much-anticipated summit.
Officials in Hanoi have pledged to provide airtight security for the two leaders, despite having had around 10 days to prepare for the event.
“Security will be at the maximum level,” Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung told reporters at a briefing to showcase the country’s efforts to welcome Kim and Trump.
Another official, Nguyen Manh Hung, the leader of the information ministry, said that the 3,000 journalists from 40 countries expected in Hanoi could rely on his agency as “you’d count on a family member”.
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| Vietnamese soldiers at the Dong Dang railway station where Kim is expected to arrive [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters] |
Can North Korea follow Vietnam to economic success?
It’s dynamic, open to the outside world and becoming richer fast – while being run by a single-party communist government. Vietnam’s economy is being held up by the US as an example for North Korea to follow if it gives up its nuclear weapons.
But not everyone agrees that Kim could achieve what Vietnam has without giving up his tight grip on power.
Read more here.
US asks Russia for advice before summit
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Washington has asked Moscow for advice before the summit in Hanoi, according to Interfax.
The news agency quotes Lavrov as saying there is no quick solution to the Korean Peninsula issue, adding that the United Nations could have lifted some sanctions against Pyongyang that hamper relations between North Korea and South Korea.
Arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, to this Trump-Kim craziness. Tshirts, flags and haircuts. pic.twitter.com/pIAk8HdsAA
— Faras Ghani (@farasG) February 25, 2019
Vietnam aiming to cash in on ‘valuable’ event
Officials and analysts predict future economic gains as Vietnam steps up preparations to host the second summit between the two leaders.
Read more here.
Sunday, February 24:
US manages expectations for second summit
Trump is predicting a “continuation of the progress” made in Singapore, in an apparent effort to manage expectations for his second summit with Kim.
In a Twitter post, Trump says he is leaving early on Monday for the meeting in Hanoi, while also wondering: “Denuclearization?” He also says Kim knows that “without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the world”.
Very productive talks yesterday with China on Trade. Will continue today! I will be leaving for Hanoi, Vietnam, early tomorrow for a Summit with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, where we both expect a continuation of the progress made at first Summit in Singapore. Denuclearization?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2019
Heading into this week’s summit, Trump has said that North Korea has not tested any nuclear weapons in months and that as long as that testing has ceased, he is in no rush.
Speaking to Fox News Sunday TV programme, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he is hoping for a “substantive step forward.” But, he cautioned, “it may not happen, but I hope that it will.”
“President Trump has also said this is going to take time. There may have to be another summit. We may not get everything done this week,” Pompeo adds.
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