Trump to hold one-on-one with Kim on first day of Vietnam summit
President Trump is slated to meet one-on-one Wednesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the first night of their two-day summit in Vietnam.
The White House released Trump’s schedule for Wednesday, which shows the president greeting Kim at 6:30 p.m. local time at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi. Trump and Kim are then set to meet one-on-one for 20 minutes, followed by a “social dinner,” according to the White House.
The dinner is scheduled to last roughly 90 minutes and conclude around 8:35 p.m. local time. Hanoi is 12 hours ahead of Washington, D.C. {mosads}
The White House had previously indicated the two leaders would meet one-on-one during the president’s trip to Vietnam, but had not released specific times or details.
Trump’s past private meetings with foreign heads such as Russian President Vladimir Putin have drawn concerns from some Democratic lawmakers, who have pushed for detailed readouts of the meetings or wanted to speak with translators present.
Trump and Kim are expected to see a more formal round of negotiations on Thursday that includes their respective aides and advisers.
The summit this week marks the second time the two leaders will come face-to-face after their meeting in Singapore last June, which also began with a meeting involving just Trump, Kim and their translators.
That summit resulted in both sides signing an agreement for North Korea to work toward denuclearization in return for unspecified security guarantees from the U.S. Trump has publicly expressed optimism about the outcome of his talks with Kim since that summit, but has said he’s in “no rush” to get North Korea to commit to denuclearization as long as Pyongyang has halted missile testing.
It’s unclear what specifics might come from this week’s meeting, as senior administration officials provided few answers during a call with reporters on what to expect. The officials have pointed to reaching an agreed definition of denuclearization as a priority.
Prior to Wednesday’s talks with Kim, the president will spend much of the day meeting with Vietnamese officials.
He is scheduled to participate in a photo op, bilateral talks and a signing ceremony on commercial trade agreements with Vietnam’s president, Nguyen Phu Trong.
Trump will then participate in a bilateral meeting and working lunch with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
The president landed in Vietnam on Tuesday around 9 p.m. local time, about 10 hours after Kim arrived via train. Vietnamese officials greeted both men, and rolled out a red carpet upon their respective arrivals.
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