Kim Jong-un, top leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), arrives at the DPRK embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam on Feb. 26, 2019. (Photo by Liao Yanxiong/China Daily)
Democratic People's Republic of Korea top leader Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump have arrived in Hanoi one day ahead of their second summit, with high expectations that the two leaders can flesh out specific steps both sides will take to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Kim's train, green and adorned with yellow stripes, made a stop at Dong Dang Station near the Vietnamese border with China on Tuesday morning. A welcoming ceremony was held at the station. Kim waved and smiled as he was greeted by Vietnamese officials and residents.
Trump arrived at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport on Tuesday evening. He has expressed optimism about his upcoming talks with Kim, and tweeted aboard Air Force One, "Heading over to Vietnam … Looking forward to a very productive Summit!"
According to the White House, the two leaders are scheduled to kick off the two-day event with a brief one-on-one conversation and a social dinner on Wednesday.
The Hanoi talks come eight months after their historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a DPRK leader.
No schedule for the second day has been released yet, but experts believed that Kim and Trump will have follow-up talks in a bid to realize the details of their June 12 declaration in Singapore, in which they agreed to work together for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, a transformation of DPRK-U.S. ties, and peace on the peninsula.
Whether the two will hold a joint news conference after the talks－which experts believe will occur if the two leaders reach a satisfactory deal－is a possibility being keenly monitored by international media outlets.
United States President Donald Trump arrives in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, on Tuesday evening.
