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Feb 26, 2019 / 15:53

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo arrives in Vietnam ahead of Trump arrival

Mike Pompeo hailed the upcoming Trump-Kim summit as an “important opportunity” for denuclearization and peace.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi on Tuesday morning [February 26] ahead of a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 
 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: Reuters
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: Reuters
Pompeo – Trump’s top envoy – was believed to go to Hanoi on his own official aircraft, separate from Air Force One which is carrying US President Donald Trump.   

“Made it to Vietnam for President @realDonaldTrump’s #HanoiSummit with the DPRK,” Pompeo tweeted, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 

Mike Pompeo hailed the upcoming second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as an “important opportunity” for denuclearization and peace.

The State Department said Pompeo is scheduled to meet with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Tuesday evening [February 26].

A meeting between Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-chol, is also possible, for last-minute preparations ahead of the summit.

“Continuing our work to make progress toward denuclearization and furthering relations,” he wrote in an earlier tweet en route to Hanoi. 

A reporter travelling with Pompeo said that in his efforts to improve ties with reclusive North Korea and has made several trips to Pyongyang to negotiate steps toward ending the North’s nuclear program.