North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Vietnam to meet the United States President Donald Trump this week to discuss critical diplomatic concerns that include the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Kim made the 65-hour travel train from Pyongyang through China and he reached the Dong Dang station at 8:22 a.m. through his personal armored train after crossing the Chinese border.
On his last summit meeting with the Trump, The North Korean leader flew to Singapore. He, however, prefers to travel by land. According to rumors, his father Kim Jong Il fears flying. The North Korean leaders' train is built with heavy armor and bulletproof black-tinted windows and it is believed to run at an average speed of around 35 miles per hour. It is said to contain conference rooms, an audience chamber, an office with TV screens and satellite phones, and bedrooms. It is also rumored to carry a helicopter in case of emergencies.
The leader was welcomed by Vietnamese officials on the station. He traveled to Hanoi through his personal limousine. Kim's visit celebrates the long friendship between Vietnam and North Korea after they fought side by side during the Vietnam War. The two nations also share the same complex relationship with their mutual neighbor, China.
The summit between the two leaders will start with dinner on Wednesday evening. A series of official meetings will then follow on Thursday. The two leaders will be joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and their North Korean counterparts during the dinner.
The Yonhap news agency, South Korean state-run news network, said that the dinner might be help on the Hanoi Opera House. The opera house was visited last week by chief of staff Kim Chang Son and some United States officials.
Trump is expected to arrive in Vietnam on Tuesday and he plans to meet the Vietnamese president and prime minister on Wednesday before attending the dinner with the North Korean leader.
For security reasons, Kim's visit to Vietnam was kept in secrecy. Diplomats, however, said that he might visit the industrial town of Haiphong and the nearby picturesque tourist site of Ha Long Bay. Officials also think that he might visit the South Korean-owned electronics giant's, Samsung, factory in Hanoi. Kim is thought to be keen on opening North Korea's tourism and by attracting foreign firms in investing in its special economic zones to develop the nation's economy.
