Trump-Kim summit kicks off in Vietnam

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened their second summit on Wednesday in Vietnam with friendly greetings and a dinner ahead of denuclearization talks. The leaders shook hands in front of U.S. and North Korean flags at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi and held a brief private meeting before dinner. Trump attended the dinner with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Worker’s Party of Korea, and Ri Yong Ho, minister of foreign affairs, attended on behalf of North Korea.

Trump called it an honor to meet with Kim again. “I thought the first summit was a great success,” he said. “And I think this one hopefully will be equal or greater than the first.” Kim said he remains “confident of achieving the great results that everyone will welcome” from the summit. The leaders will begin discussing North Korea’s nuclear weapons on Thursday.