Kim arrives in Vietnam, visits North Korean embassy ahead of meeting with Trump

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday following a nearly 70-hour train ride ahead of his summit with President Trump.

The Associated Press reported that the host country laid out a red carpet outside of Dong Dang station in anticipation of Kim’s arrival. Vietnamese officials greeted him as he stepped off the train on Tuesday morning.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Vietnam ahead of his two day summit with President Trump in the capital Hanoi. @willripleyCNN is there, and says that all roads en route to Kim Jong Un’s hotel have been closed: https://t.co/15JT9BXHVr pic.twitter.com/THS6vLIWDI

— CNN (@CNN) February 25, 2019

Kim traveled to his hotel via limousine, which was flanked by bodyguards and additional security. Scores of people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the convoy, the AP reported.

{mosads}Kim is staying at the same hotel in Hanoi that the White House had booked for the American press corps, forcing reporters to relocate their equipment they’d spent days setting up.

The AP reported that Kim later departed his hotel to visit the North Korean Embassy.

Trump is set to arrive in Vietnam later Tuesday. The two men will hold a first round of talks on Wednesday, followed by a second day of discussions on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid the ongoing push from the U.S. to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenal.

Trump has publicly expressed optimism about the summit, and has showered praise on Kim ahead of the pair’s second meeting. The two first met last June in Singapore.