Trump cites Vietnam as example for DPRK to follow

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Europe

08:51

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Vietnam is a good example for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to follow on its path to economic development, Yonhap reported.

Trump made the remark as he thanked Vietnam for hosting the summit during a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong. Trump is in the country for his second meeting with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

"We both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example of what can happen with good thinking," Trump said during the meeting at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. "And on behalf of the United States I want to thank you very much for hosting."

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi, February 27, 2019. /VCG Photo

The two leaders also attended a signing ceremony for commercial trade agreements, in which two Vietnamese carriers signed deals with Boeing Co for deals of more than 15 billion U.S. dollars.

VietJet signed firm order to buy 100 new Boeing 737 Max planes worth 12.7 billion U.S. dollars at list prices. Bamboo Airways signed another order to buy 10 Boeing 787 planes worth 2.9 billion U.S. dollars.

Trump said that he appreciated the commercial order that Vietnam had made as well as the fact that the U.S. trade deficit with the Southeast Asian nation was coming down.

At the luncheon with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other officials, Trump also expressed his eagerness for Wednesday evening, the time he was scheduled to meet with Kim. According to Trump, the DPRK leader "wants something great."

The U.S. president arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday evening, and he is scheduled to meet with Kim for a one-on-one meeting on Wednesday.