All eyes are on Vietnam as a new report suggested that the country may be preparing for the second U.S.-North Korea summit.
The Global Times translated a report by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, suggesting that Vietnam may host the highly anticipated summit between the United States and North Korea next month.
The report further suggested that Vietnam should consider very important aspects that will affect its position in the upcoming summit. One of these considerations is location. The site should be home to facilities that sport advanced communications and electronic equipment to ensure that live broadcasts will be captured for the public.
Another issue is flight range restrictions on Kim Jong Un's side. The summit should be held at a site that is not over 7,000 kilometers from North Korea's Pyongyang.
Last week, multiple outlets reported that Hanoi, Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand are among the shortlisted towns for the upcoming summit. Other reports put Singapore and Hawaii among the top choices. No confirmations have been made yet but most analysts point to Vietnam as a great choice.
Just recently, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho visited Vietnam for a couple of days. Prior to Ri's visit, U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo was also in Hanoi for two days. These visits prompted some spectators to predict that the much-needed summit may be held in the Southeast Asian country.
North Korea and Vietnam have had issues in the past. Despite the disagreements, the two countries have had a bond in ideological terms. Kim's country supported Vietnam during the war while the other is said to have contributed to North Korea's government in terms of economic reform. Furthermore, the Korean tech giant Samsung is currently the largest company that operates within the country.
As for the U.S. and Vietnam, The Diplomat recounted that the United States is one of the latter's biggest partners in trade. Both the Obama and Trump administrations have cooperated with the country for the Asia-Pacific negotiations.
Hanoi is Vietnam's capital and it is home to some high-end hotels that could accommodate delegations from both the U.S. and North Korea. Security is also good and while the country cannot be compared to Singapore when it comes to development, it is among the growing Asian countries that do not necessarily need to take the spotlight from President Donald Trump and Kim.
Vietnam has hosted the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2017, further convincing spectators that it will be successful in hosting the February summit. If predictions turn out right, Vietnam is expected to strengthen its multilateral relations with other countries.
