North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has departed by train for talks in Hanoi with US President Donald Trump, according to North Korea’s state news agency Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un onboard the train to Hanoi. Photo: KCNA
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An armored carrying Kim left the station at 5 pm local time on Saturday [February 23], starting a journey of 4,500 km across China to north Vietnam before he reaches Hanoi for the summit with Trump on February 27 and 28.
In 1958 and 1964, North Korea’s founder and first leader Kim Il-sung, who is grandfather of incumbent leader Kim Jong Un, also visited Vietnam by train.
Earlier Saturday, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Kim would make an official visit to Vietnam in the “coming days”, and KCNA also confirmed that Kim would pay a “goodwill” visit to Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Nguyen Phu Trong.
He is believed to be travelling with his sister Kim Yo Jong and one of his key negotiators, former General Kim Yong Chol.
Dong Dang railway station in Vietnam's northern province of Lang Son, which borders with China. Photo: Zing
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But the reported travel route may reflect Mr. Kim’s apparent desire to learn from the experiences of China and Vietnam to develop his country’s decrepit economy.
The North Korean advance team has checked industrial and tourism centers north of Hanoi for possible visits there by Kim before or after his meetings with Trump, according to New York Times.
