Kim Ji-soo joined The Korea Times in 2006, and worked on such desks as culture and politics and is currently a member of the Editorial Board. Previous workplaces include The Korea Herald and the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Following in footsteps of his grandfather
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un sits in his vehicle after arriving at Dong Dang railway station, Vietnam, at the border with China, Tuesday. Reuters-Yonhap
By Kim Ji-soo
By Kim Ji-soo
Traveling more than 4,000 kilometers and 65 hours to take his first step in Vietnam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un disembarked at Dong Dang Railway Station, Tuesday, looking confident and authoritative.
He was accompanied on his armored green train by a top-level North Korean entourage that included his sister Kim Yo-jong, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party Kim Yong-chol, who has held ministerial-level talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, senior party aide Ri Su-yong and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. North Korean first lady Ri Sol-ju did not accompany him.
An interpreter was seen rushing to his side, as Kim met with a long line of Vietnamese officials.
He then traveled to Hanoi in a Mercedez-Benz to the Hotel Melia that had strongly been rumored to be his accommodation during his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, and an official friendly visit upon the invitation of Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong.
As the world apprehensively watches what will emerge from the two leaders' talks, Kim was, from another aspect, repeating a similar visit by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea. The elder Kim visited Vietnam in 1958 and 1964. Kim Il-sung kept his country on the path of “self-reliant” Juche, while the young Kim Jong-un, educated in Switzerland, has watchers keenly anticipating whether he will adopt, like “fellow communist” nation Vietnam, reforms toward a free market.
Residents in the border city of Dong Dang in Vietnam's Lang Son Province welcome visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his entourage at Dong Dang Railway Station, Tuesday, a day before his two-day summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. Yonhap
Vietnamese kindergarteners wear North Korean flag stickers on their cheeks at the Vietnam-North Korea Friendship Kindergarten in Hanoi, Tuesday, to celebrate the arrival of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The kindergarten was established in March 8, 1978 with assistance from the North. Enrollment there started out with 120 students, but has now grown to 500. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
The train which transported North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un leaves Dong Dang railway station, Vietnam, at the border with China, Tuesday. Reuters-Yonhap