Amid updates that he and North Korea military leader, Kim Jong Un, will be signing an agreement Thursday, after just a day of talks, United States President Donald Trump appeared to have many good things to say about the latter. Trump hailed his North Korean counterpart, saying that the latter will "be a great leader."
One day into the Hanoi summit, the U.S. President described his relationship with military dictator Kim Jong Un as a "really good one," and declared that it was "an honor" to be with the latter, adding that Kim's country had "enormous economic potential."
The U.S. President shared with Mr. Kim his belief in the "tremendous future" of the latter's country, North Korea, describing their time together at the summit as an "honor."
"It's an honor to be with Chairman Kim," Trump also declared, as the two leaders met in Hanoi.
In a White House Tweet, Trump's words for the North Korean leader as shown in a video clip of their initial Hanoi meeting, "it's great to be with you."
Additionally, Trump also commented on the expectations of "some people" for the summit to go "quicker," but expressed that it was where he wanted to be, saying that both he and his North Korean counterpart were "satisfied" and "happy" with where things are.
In this clip, the American President Trump also remarked on the results of the initial summit in Singapore, which he viewed as being successful. He added that he hoped the present summit in Hanoi would be "equal" to that "or even greater."
With this reference to the Singapore summit, it is remembered that the first one ended without anything concrete being worked out between the United States and North Korea. For this second round of talks, however, the whole world watches with a collective bated breath to see if results will be delivered.
For its part, North Korea made a show of effort in decreasing tensions prior to the present round of talks. It is believed that, to gain some leverage in present negotiations, Chairman Kim suspended North Korea's nuclear testing as well as missile launches, even destroying test sites.
The United States President responded by putting a stay on its joint military exercises with South Korea. After the talks in Singapore, he had even sent U.S. attorney Michael Pompeo to Pyongyang and serve as a diplomat for further talks, although nothing came of those four visits.
Wednesday marked the first day of the Hanoi summit talks between the two leaders on the potential of denuclearizing the whole of the Korean Peninsula. No reports have come out yet as to what has transpired then, or whether anything concrete has been agreed on.
As talks resume Thursday at Hanoi's Hotel Metropole for this second and last day of the summit, the other half of the Korean Peninsula, as well as the United States, are ripe with expectation, perhaps mingled with a trepidation, about whether these present round of talks will be an improvement on the first talks and bring something concrete and significant to the table as to the likelihood of denuclearization in North Korea.
Recent updates only reveal that both leaders will sign a joint agreement Thursday after a whole day in negotiations. Still, no specifics have been announced. A signing ceremony is expected at two o'clock Eastern Time.
