Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Kim Jong-un's every move under spotlight
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In this image made from Japan's TBS TV video on early Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a habitual smoker, takes a pre-dawn smoke break at the train station in Nanning, China, hours before his arrival in Vietnam for his high-stakes summit with President Donald Trump over resolving the international standoff over the North's nuclear weapons and missiles. TBS/JNN-AP-Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrives at Dong Dang Railway Station in Dong Dang, Lang Son Province in Vietnam, Tuesday, to attend the second U.S.-North Korea summit. AFP-Yonhap
Trump, Kim to have 'social dinner' on Feb. 27
By Lee Min-hyung
HANOI — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un started his official visit to Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, Tuesday, that will include a series of diplomatic engagements and visits to major manufacturing facilities here.
Kim spent 65 hours on a heavily armored train traversing China before arriving at Dong Dang Railway Station on the Vietnam-China border at around 8:10 a.m.
Upon exiting his bulletproof green train, Kim was greeted by a group of ranking Vietnamese officials and an honor guard. He then made his way to a black Mercedes sedan in front of the station.
Kim smiled, looking relaxed despite the days-long travel from Pyongyang to Hanoi.
The sedan then took the young dictator to Hanoi where he will hold a two-day summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim is staying in the Melia Hanoi Hotel located in downtown Hanoi during the summit. Starting this week, the Vietnamese government stepped up security around the hotel.
Those who not staying at the hotel are not allowed access, with local police and military officers providing the highest level of security.
“A security scanner will be installed in our hotel lobby as part of diplomatic protocol due to the visit of a head of state staying at our hotel,” the hotel said in a note to its guests.
Armed soldiers and vehicles were seen patrolling the hotel to ensure the security of Trump and Kim during their stay in the Vietnamese capital.
Speculation was rampant that Kim would visit a Samsung Electronics factory in Thai Nguyen in northern Vietnam en route to the Melia Hanoi Hotel; however, he made his way straight to the hotel arriving at around 1 p.m. (KST)
Kim later visited the North Korean embassy, staying for around one hour, and talking to officials there.
Kim and Trump will start their second summit today with dinner together before discussing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula tomorrow, according to the White House.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the two leaders will each bring two guests to the dinner. The venue has not been revealed, but it is likely to be the Hanoi Opera House, as pre-summit delegations from both sides have inspected the site.
On Thursday, the two leaders may sign an agreement on denuclearization of the peninsula, and could unveil a “Hanoi Agreement” later in the day.
After wrapping up the second summit with Trump, Kim is likely to visit a series of manufacturing sites in Vietnam, as the country is seen as a possible role model for economic development. Kim has expressed his determination to open up his country’s closed economy, just as Vietnam did in the past.
Kim’s possible tour sites include the industrial port city of Haiphong, and Halong Bay, one of the country’s most famous tourist attractions.