Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
NK leader pushes ahead with Vietnam official visit
Dancers at Vietnam-DPRK Friendship Kindergarten in Hanoi rehearse ahead of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's scheduled visit, Friday. / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un went ahead with his first official visit to Vietnam, Friday, despite the collapse of talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Thursday.
But Kim has rescheduled his program and plans to head home Saturday morning, instead of the evening as initially planned, according to diplomatic sources.
His two-day official visit to Vietnam is part of a five-day journey to the country, including the summit with Trump on Wednesday and Thursday.
The abrupt end to the summit in the Vietnamese capital had fueled speculation that a discouraged Kim might change his schedule, which is partly aimed at benchmarking Vietnam's economic reform model.
Kim held talks with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong that afternoon after inspecting an honor guard in front of the presidential palace
He also met Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, followed by a banquet.
Another source said Kim visited the Vietnam-DPRK Friendship Kindergarten in Hanoi earlier in the day, referring to the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Before leaving on Saturday morning, Kim is planning a brief visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which commemorates the former leader of the Southeast Asian nation.
Kim is the first North Korean leader in 55 years to visit Vietnam. His late grandfather, Kim Il-sung, who founded North Korea, traveled to the country in 1958 and 1964.
Kim plans to leave for the border train station in Dong Dang at around 10 a.m. Saturday.
He arrived in Vietnam on Feb. 26, after a 66-hour train journey.
Kim and Trump ended their summit abruptly around noon Thursday without issuing a joint statement.
He stayed at his luxury hotel without issuing any statement in person until Friday.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho instead held a sudden late-night press conference, Thursday, saying his country had asked for partial sanctions relief in return for its dismantlement of the Yongbyon nuclear complex.
Trump had claimed that Pyongyang had called for the lifting of all sanctions.