Trump-Kim summit: President says number one goal of Vietnam visit is ‘denuclearisation’ in North Korea

The US president calls his relationship with the 35-year-old autocratic leader ‘very special’

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began their second summit in Vietnam with the US president calling the autocrat a “great leader” while softly nudging him to work towards a path of “denuclearisation” in the Korean Peninsula.

The two leaders are meeting face-to-face in Hanoi’s historic Metropole hotel for the first time since their historic summit last summer in Singapore.

Mr Trump is urging North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons in exchange for the prospect of an economic revival in the isolationist country. But Mr Kim wants sanctions relieved without losing out on the strategic advantages that comes with nuclear weapons.

Following their meeting at the Metropole, Mr Trump and Mr Kim were joined by secretary of state Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and two North Korean officials for a “social dinner”.

While seated next to the North Korean ruler, Mr Trump described his relationship with Mr Kim as “very special” before predicting “tremendous economic potential” for the country.

“Your country has tremendous economic potential – unbelievable, unlimited – and I think that you will have a tremendous future with your country, a great leader,” Mr Trump said, looking directly at Mr Kim. “I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen – and we will help it to happen.”

The US president also said he hoped this summit will earn results “equal or greater” than last year’s summit, emphasising that the relationships between the two leaders made “the biggest progress”.

Mr Trump also met with Vietnamese president Nguyen Phu Trong and Nguyen Xuan Phuc and reportedly told them that North Korea could have a “thriving” economy if it started to cooperate with the US.

When it comes to denuclearisation, Pyongyang said it would only consider getting rid of its weapons of mass destruction under very specific circumstances: the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea, ending the US’s nuclear umbrella in the region, and Washington ending its extended deterrence with South Korea and Japan.

North Korea is also “unlikely to give up” its weapons of mass destruction, missiles and production capability, according to a US intelligence report in January. Since the last Trump-Kim summit in 2018, North Korea has reportedly been continuing to develop missile technology and nuclear weapons in covert facilities.

However, Mr Trump has repeatedly called attention to the fact that there has been no detection of North Korea testing nuclear devices or ballistic missiles since the US began its diplomatic talks with Mr Kim.

Taking a different tone from the last summit, the US president said last week that he was in “no rush” in clamouring down on Mr Kim and his regime over nuclear weapons.

But after meeting with Vietnamese and North Korean officials, Mr Trump insists he is still working towards the “denuclearisation of North Korea”.

“Kim Jong-un and I will try very hard to work something out on denuclearisation and then making North Korea an economic powerhouse,” he tweeted.

The summit will continue on Thursday. It is expected that both Mr Trump and Mr Kim will be holding meetings throughout most of the day, including a formal statement or signing to conclude the event.