Hanoi: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vietnam onTuesday ahead of his much-anticipated second face-to-face meetingwith US President Donald Trump.
Kim left Pyongyang by train on Saturday, embarking on a4,500-kilometre, three-day journey south-west through China to theVietnam border, where he crossed at the town of Dong Dang.
He was greeted at 8am (0100 GMT) by Vo Van Thuong, secretary of theCommunist Party of Vietnam's Central Committee, as well as Ministerof the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, at Dong Dang train station,according to a government statement.
Photos published by the local Vnexpress news site and on a governmentwebsite showed Kim's delegation leaving Dong Dang by car for the170-kilometre journey to Hanoi.
All traffic would be halted along the road until 2pm, the state NhanDan newspaper reported Friday.
Trump is expected to arrive in Hanoi on Tuesday evening on board AirForce One. The two leaders are set to meet on Wednesday and Thursday.
A heavy security presence was seen on Monday at the Meliahotel, where it is widely suspected Kim will stay, while a similarsecurity presence was spotted at Marriott Hotel Hanoi, where Trump isexpected to stay.
Former US president Barack Obama stayed at the Marriott on his visitto Hanoi in May 2016.
This will be Kim and Trump's second summit after they met in Junein Singapore, where Kim emphasized his readiness for "completedenuclearization."
But the two sides made no concrete commitments in terms of how thecommunist-ruled and internationally isolated North Korea woulddismantle its nuclear arsenal - and what the US would offer inreturn.
Kim has since criticized the US for maintaining sanctions on hiscountry since the talks and progress appeared to have stalled. DPI
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