New information on Trump-Kim meeting in Vietnam revealed by Reuters

World
Europe

Vietnam is preparing for the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un to arrive by train for his summit in Hanoi next week with U.S. President Donald Trump, two sources with direct knowledge of security and logistics planning told Reuters on Wednesday.

It could take Kim at least two and a half days to travel the thousands of kilometers through China by train, from Pyongyang to Vietnam, meaning he would have to set off later this week in time for his planned February 25 arrival.

Kim's train will stop at the Vietnamese border station of Dong Dang, where he will disembark and drive 170 km (105 miles) to Hanoi by car, the sources said.

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam ,February 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Separately, three other sources with direct knowledge of the summit preparations told Reuters the preferred location for the February 27-28 meeting between Trump and Kim is the Government Guesthouse, a colonial-era government building in central Hanoi.

All five sources who spoke to Reuters said the plans were subject to change. The sources were not authorized to speak to the media because of the sensitivities surrounding the secretive DPRK leader's travel plans.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the summit organizing committee on Tuesday that security during the summit was "top priority", Vietnam's government said on its website on Wednesday.

The Metropole Hotel, opposite the Government Guesthouse, will be a backup location for the summit, two of the sources said.

On Saturday, a Reuters witness saw Kim's close aide, Kim Chang Son, visiting the Government Guesthouse and the Metropole and Melia hotels at the center of the capital.

Kim could possibly stay in the Melia hotel during his visit, one of the sources said.

This combination of pictures, which shows the letter from DPRK leader Kim Jong Un to U.S. President Donald Trump, are released by Trump via Twitter, July 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

The second Trump-Kim summit follows the two leaders' first face-to-face meeting in Singapore in June 2018.

China supports U.S. and DPRK to solve the issue through dialogue

On the upcoming summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry expects the two sides will hold a smooth summit and achieve positive outcomes.

"It is China's consistent stance that direct contact and dialogue between the DPRK and the U.S. is key to resolving the Korean Peninsula issue," spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily press briefing Wednesday, adding that China always supports the DPRK and the U.S. to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiations.

Geng expressed hope that the summit would inject new impetus to realizing denuclearization and lasting peace on the peninsula.

"China will continue to make its own efforts and contributions to realizing this goal," he added.

(Cover photo: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meets with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un at the start of their summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore, June 12, 2018. /VCG Photo)