Politics
2019.02.24 21:55 GMT+8

CGTN in Hanoi: Second Trump-Kim summit

CGTN

All eyes are on the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un, which is set to take place in Hanoi, Vietnam February 27-28. 

A CGTN crew is heading to the frontline of the summit to bring you all the latest news. Anchor Tian Wei and reporter Han Peng are flying in from China, while White House correspondent Jessica Stone is jetting in from Washington and Tony Cheng will join the team from Thailand. 

Clothing on sale in Hanoi, Vietnam. /CGTN Photo

Anchor Tian Wei shared her thoughts on the Korean Peninsula issue.

"We were there in Singapore for the first Kim-Trump Summit, and now we are here in Hanoi for the second. Despite the drama, the question we asked then is more than relevant today: Will peace have a chance? It's a heartbreaking question for someone like me, who started covering the DPRK nuclear issue during the early days of the Six-Party Talks and continued the work as a Washington correspondent, but only witnessed the DPRK becoming a nuclear state, while the crisis looms ever larger."

Tian Wei in Hanoi, Vietnam. /CGTN Photo

"When in Hanoi, I will talk to different voices critical on the issues, and create sophisticated discussions. And you will be with me, on a journey for peace, through the small alleys in Hanoi, all the way to the heart of solutions," she said.

Han Peng recalled his experiences last year when the DPRK made its first move towards denuclearization.

"On May 24, 2018, the DPRK blasted its Punggye-ri nuclear test site before my eyes, as I was one of the around 30 international reporters to be on site to cover the historic event. A lot has happened since then. But there is a lot more to do to free the Korean Peninsula from the threat of a nuclear war. The upcoming Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi is a crucial event to give peace a chance. My close following of the summit will hopefully give a glimpse of what is on the mind of the two leaders and what next move they will take," he wrote.

Jessica, our correspondent based in Washington DC, gave a view from the U.S. perspective.

"There's a new American voice on the U.S. negotiations team since the Singapore summit. Special Representative to the DPRK Stephen Biegun was appointed in August 2018. The former Ford Motor Company executive said recently that this summit should produce 'bold and real' actions on denuclearization from Pyongyang. But U.S. officials acknowledge that there's still no shared definition of what denuclearization means," she said.

Hanoi prepares for Trump-Kim summit. /CGTN Photo

"I expect to focus on whether the parties make progress on that definition in order to allow the U.S. to offer Pyongyang some of the more enticing economic development 'carrots' being discussed. In the runup to the one-day summit, I will also talk to Americans and Vietnamese who lived through the war and reconciliation period between our countries to see what the DPRK can draw from that experience and we will also look at the rising economy of Vietnam, which is one reason this location was chosen for the second summit."

Vietnam is ready, and so is Hanoi, or as our Thai correspondent Tony put it, the city is "bracing" itself for the two leaders.

Hanoi is about to welcome some famous visitors. /CGTN Photo

"A huge U.S. military transport plane sits on the runway at Noi Bai airport and teams of diplomats are in town making final preparations for Wednesday's summit. Local residents seem slightly bemused about the choice of their capital as the venue for the summit, but Vietnam is symbolic. It too fought a bloody war against the U.S. but has since instituted reforms that have made it a vibrant and rapidly expanding economic force. President Trump clearly hopes to convince Kim that the DPRK can follow the same path, tweeting last week he predicts it will become an ‘economic powerhouse.' But with little visible progress since their meeting in Singapore, expectations are not high."

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