Vietnam 'willing' to host Trump-Kim summit, says PM

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Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the country will do its best to "facilitate" the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un, if it is chosen as the venue for the meeting.

"I actually don't know if the two will decide to have the meeting in Vietnam," Phuc said late Thursday during an interview with Bloomberg TV in Hanoi. "We don't know the final decision. However, if it happens here we will do our best to facilitate the meeting."

Munhwa Ilbo, a major newspaper in the Republic of Korea (ROK), reported earlier this month that Trump and Kim could meet in Vietnam's capital for their second summit.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho shake hands in Hanoi, Vietnam, December 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

The U.S. president and the DPRK leader held their first meeting in Singapore on June 12 last year, agreeing on some general visions to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and improve ties. But talks on how to implement the agreement have hit an impasse. A second summit between the two leaders is expected to take place in the coming months to break the deadlock.

Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the DPRK's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee, arrived in Washington on Thursday for a two-day visit. He will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday over arrangements for the second Trump-Kim summit. The DPRK official could also meet Trump.

Vietnam maintains diplomatic ties with both the United States and the DPRK. Trump attended an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Vietnam's coastal city Da Nang in November 2017. The DPRK's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho visited Hanoi late last year, reportedly aiming to learn from Vietnam's experience in economic reform.

(Cover: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their historic summit in Singapore, June 12, 2018. /VCG Photo)

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