Periodico 26

Hanoi.- In brief statements to the press before the aside with Kim, Trump assured the negotiations will be "very successful."

The U.S. ruler said it was "an honor" to meet with the North Korean leader and indicated both were "very satisfied" with the progress made in the denuclearization talks and the stability of the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Trump said he has a "special relationship" with Kim and both were "very satisfied with what we have done."

The DPRK leader was also optimistic regarding this second summit.

"I am sure this time there will be great results, which will be well received by everyone, he said. I will do my best to make it happen," he said with a beaming smile.

The meeting was held in the central Metropol of Hanoi, a hotel of typical French architecture in Vietnam's colonial era.

The two presidents shook hands with a row of U.S. and North Korean flags as the background and made statements to the press from two armchairs. Then they retired to a private dinner where they will continue their conversation.

Although informal, the appointment is of crucial importance for the summit's success Thursday morning, with the participation of members of the respective delegations.

This format is similar to the one used last June in Singapore, in what was the first historic effort by the sides to agree on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but also the achievement of sustainable peace there.

Trump and Kim have yet to overcome countless difficulties before reaching that goal, according to experts.

One of them will be to jointly define the term "denuclearization" and adopt logical verification mechanisms for that process, one of North Korea's claims, as well as lifting United States sanctions against that country.

TRUMP HIGHLIGHTS VIETNAM'S ECONOMIC PROGRESS

U.S. President Donald Trump met Wednesday with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Phu Trong. The U.S. president arrived Tuesday in Hanoi for his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

During his interview with Phu Trong, who is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Trump congratulated Vietnam for its economic progress in recent years.

Vietnam was devastated by a bloody aggression war waged by the United States, which ended in 1975 with the withdrawal of American troops after its failure. They have done an incredible job in a very short time, said Trump, who urged the Vietnamese to increase purchases of American goods to offset the trade balance, widely favorable to Hanoi.

Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product increased 7.08 percent, slightly less than twice as much as in 2011 and its best result in 11 years. It is estimated that in 2019 it will have a similar behavior.

After talks between Phu Trong and Trump, attended by large delegations from both sides, the two leaders witnessed the signing of several trade agreements valued at 21 billion dollars.

Much of that amount will be consumed by VietJet's purchase of 100 Boeing 737-Max aircraft and 215 engines manufactured by U.S. companies General Electric and CFM.

Bamboo Airways will also acquire 10 Boeing 787-9s, and Vietnam Airlines, services for 100 million dollars from Sabre Corporation.

These operations will help to cover to a large extent the U.S. trade deficit, which in recent years has been the main buyer of Vietnamese goods and services.

Bilateral trade grew almost 120 times in the past two and a half decades, from 450 million dollars in 1994 to more than 60 billion in 2018.

CHINA CALLS ON THE DPRK AND THE US LESS ANTAGONISM, MORE MUTUAL TRUST

Beijing.- China today urged the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States to abandon antagonism and foster mutual confidence so that their current summit will lead concrete actions towards denuclearization.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi advocated that Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump see their talks in Hanoi as a new starting point, show goodwill and succeed in unblocking such a process.

"The ups and downs in the situation of the Korean peninsula during the previous decade confirm that dialogue and consultation are the way out," he emphasized.

At that point, the Foreign Minister recalled that the meeting of Kim and Trump in Singapore last June showed the power of the negotiations, as it led them to seek understanding and work for peace.

He expressed appreciation for the tireless efforts of both leaders since then to promote a political solution to the nuclear issue of the peninsula, but stressed that it is imperative to specify a mechanism for this purpose under a bilateral approach.

Finally, Wang reiterated that China, together with the international community, will always contribute to preserve stability and peace in the neighboring territory.

The head of Chinese diplomacy offered these statements at the end of a meeting with his counterparts Sergei Lavrov (Russia) and Sushma Swaraj (India) where the Korean question was one of the issues of analysis. (PL)

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