Sanders praises Trump for North Korea peace efforts Senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed Donald Trump's diplomatic efforts with North Korea. APBy Jung Min-hoVermont Senator Bernie Sanders has offered rare praise for U.S. President Donald Trump for his efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.Ahead of Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, the 2020 Democratic primary hopeful said at a CNN town hall Monday night (local time) that he supports Trump's decision to meet Kim.“Now, after all of the nasty things I said about Trump, let me say a good thing here,” Sanders said. “Look, nuclear weapons in the hands of a brutal, irresponsible dictator is a bad idea, and if Trump can succeed, in fact, through face-to-face meetings with Kim Jong-un and rid that country of nuclear weapons, that is a very good thing.”Sanders, whose insurgent 2016 presidential campaign reshaped Democratic politics, has long been a critic of Trump.“So I think that the idea of going and meeting face-to-face with your adversaries is a good idea,” Sanders said. “I would like the Feb 27, 2019By Jung Min-ho
PHOTOS From colonial rule to war: summit venue encapsulates Vietnam's painful history Vietnamese police on duty outside the French colonial-era Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi before the North Korea-U.S. summit. ReutersBy Park Si-soo The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi ― the main venue for the make-or-break summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ― is a silent but sturdy witness of Vietnam's painful, conflict-prone modern history. Opened in 1901 in the heart of Hanoi, the hotel looked down on Vietnamese people struggling with grief and pain under France's decades-long colonial rule. Following Vietnamese independence in 1945, it was renamed the Thong Nhat Hotel (Reunification Hotel) by the Communist government.It survived numerous U.S. Air Force raids during the 1955-75 Vietnam War. Having a bomb shelter ― built in the 1960s ― in its compound corroborates the hard times Vietnam faced during the war. A stairway leads to the Vietnam War bomb shelter entrance at the French colonial-era Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi. ReutersThe Vietnam War-era bomb shelter at Hanoi's Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel. ReutersThe derelictFeb 27, 2019
North Korean leader visiting Vietnam till March 2 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrives at the railway station in Vietnam's Dong Dang on Tuesday to attend the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi. AFPBy Jung Min-hoNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un will stay in Vietnam for two extra days for a goodwill visit after his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the North's state media, KCNA, Wednesday.“Kim will meet with Trump for their historic second summit on Feb. 27-28. And then he will conduct a goodwill visit to Vietnam on March 1-2,” KCNA said.The KCNA previously reported that Kim was planning to pay an official visit to North Korea's critical Southeast Asian ally, where the “leaders of the two countries will have a meeting and talks.”During his visit to the North Korean embassy in Hanoi Tuesday, Kim told staff to strengthen bilateral ties.North Korea and Vietnam established formal diplomatic relations in 1950.During the Vietnam War, North Korea provided military supplies and deployed its air force to North Vietnam, which was led by Ho Chi Minh. Since then, relations have had their ups and Feb 27, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Trump, Kim to meet this evening in Hanoi U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at Hanoi's Metropole Hotel before dining at an undisclosed restaurant. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Park Si-sooDetailed schedules for U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's first day of their two-day summit in Hanoi have been released. The leaders' first get-together Wednesday will be a “brief one-on-one” meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, starting at 6:30 p.m. (local time) ― 8:30 p.m. (Korea time). Trump is scheduled to leave his hotel, the JW Marriott, at 5:55 p.m. for the meeting. The first 10 minutes will be an ice-breaking session. The two will then discuss the main agenda until 7 p.m., according to the White House. Trump and Kim will then move to an undisclosed restaurant for a “social dinner” with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney from the U.S. side and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, and an unannounced “third associate” from the North. Chances are hiFeb 27, 2019
FULL TEXT White House: Trump committed to achieving peace for everyone The White House. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoAhead of U.S. President Donald Trump's two-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, the White House said in a statement that Trump is fully committed to achieving a “bright and secure future” for everyone on the Korean Peninsula and across the world.Here is the full text of the statement:President Trump Is Committed to Achieving Transformational Peace for the United States, the Korean Peninsula, and the World“As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula.”A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY: President Donald J. Trump is committed to achieving a bright and secure future for all people on the Korean Peninsula and across the world.On February 27 and 28, 2019, President Donald J. Trump will meet with Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Chairman Kim Jong Un for a second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.This summit aims to make further progress on the commitments the two leaders made in Singapore: transformed relations, a lasting and stable peace, and the completeFeb 27, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Bolton in Hanoi for North Korea summit This Jan. 28, 2019 photo shows U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton takes questions from reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C. UPI-YonhapU.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is in Hanoi for President Donald Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his spokesman said Tuesday.There had been speculation that the hawkish adviser had been left out of Trump's delegation, because his name was not on a list of officials distributed by the White House.Bolton's spokesman, Garrett Marquis, confirmed in an email that Bolton was already in the Vietnamese capital ahead of the president's scheduled 9:15 p.m. arrival.Asked if he will be participating in all of Trump's meetings with Kim, a White House spokesperson replied, "The attendance has not yet been announced by the White House."Bolton is known for his hardline stance on North Korea. He has repeatedly expressed skepticism over whether the regime will abandon its nuclear weapons program. But in recent months he has softened his public remarks in apparent consideration of Trump's eagerness to engage with Feb 26, 2019
Kim, Trump arrive in Hanoi for make-or-break summit U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Tuesday, upon his arrival in Vietnam for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. AFP-Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, visits the North Korean embassy in the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi, Tuesday evening, about four hours after he checked into the Melia Hanoi Hotel at 1:00 p.m. (KST). Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukKim Jong-un visits North Korean embassy in Hanoi By Kim Yoo-chul, Lee Min-hyungHANOI ― U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, Tuesday, ahead of their second summit scheduled for today and tomorrow. Trump arrived at Noi Bai International Airport for the two days of meetings; while Kim checked into the Melia Hanoi Hotel around 1 p.m. (KST), after a 65-hour train ride that passed through southern China.Four hours later at around 5:02 p.m. he left in an armored limousine to visit the North Korean Embassy, arriving a few minutes later. Kim, accompanied by his sFeb 26, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
Kim Jong-un's every move under spotlight 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-YonhapNorth 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-YonhapTrump, Kim to have 'social dinner' on Feb. 27By Lee Min-hyungHANOI — 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 aFeb 26, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Kim Jong-un visits North Korean embassy North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un visits the North Korean embassy in Hanoi, Tuesday, ahead of the second U.S.-North Korean summit. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the country's embassy in Hanoi on Tuesday afternoon, hours after arriving here for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.Kim left his hotel by his bulletproof limousine at around 5:03 p.m. and arrived at the embassy just a few minutes later. As the car stopped in front of the main gate, he was seen disembarking and walking into the compound. He was surrounded by a team of bodyguards dressed in black suits.Kim arrived in the Vietnamese capital earlier in the day, wrapping up a nearly 70-hour train and road journey from Pyongyang. (Yonhap)Feb 26, 2019
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-YonhapBy Kim Ji-sooTraveling 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 Feb 26, 2019By Kim Ji-soo
