North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday to ultra-tight security and enthusiastic crowds ahead of a second summit with Donald Trump. The normally sleepy Vietnamese border station of Dong Dang spruced itself up for Kim’s arrival after the young leader emulated his grandfather with a 4,000-kilometre, two-and-a-half-day odyssey through China aboard his olive green train.
Wearing his trademark Mao-style black suit and flanked by his troops of bodyguards, Kim was ushered into a waiting Mercedes Benz and his motorcade rolled off towards Hanoi, where crowds lined the streets and armoured personnel carriers patrolled the roads. A military guard of honour in pristine white uniforms presented arms as Kim strolled down the red carpet waving and grinning, surrounded by a phalanx of aides and security personnel.
U.S President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Hanoi late Tuesday. He tweeted he was looking forward to a “very productive” second summit.
After a historic initial meeting in Singapore in June that produced only a vague statement about denuclearisation, analysts say the second date must deliver more concrete steps towards dismantling Pyongyang’s arsenal.