Trump and Kim meet in Metropole Hanoi

Linh Pham 19:00, 2019/02/27

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have clasped hands and posed smiling in front of flags in Sofitel Legend Metropole in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, for the second one-on-one meeting.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Metropole hotel in Hanoi in evening February 27. Photo: CNN

“We have been able to overcome all the obstacles and here we are today,” Kim said as the two leaders sat for a brief meeting, according to CNN.

The two leaders will meet for 20 minutes ahead of a private dinner tonight.

The two leaders start the conversation. Photo: CNN

According to White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, the dinner will be a relatively small affair, especially compared to the packed tables seen today during Trump’s working lunch with Vietnamese leaders.

According to Sanders, the participants at the dinner, which will take place at the Metropole Hotel, are as follows:

The US

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America
Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State
Mick Mulvaney, Assistant to the President and acting Chief of Staff
Lee Yun-hyang, interpreter

North Korea

Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
Kim Yong Chol, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea
Ri Yong Ho, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sin Hye Yong, interpreter

Local residents queue near the hotel. Photo: CNN

Earlier on way to the hotel, onlookers lined the motorcade route from JW Marriott – the hotel where Trump is staying, waving and holding up their phones.

A theater erects portraits of the two leaders. Photo: CNN

Nearby the hotel, which has been largely cordoned off to the public amid heavy security, the famous Lotus Water Puppet Theater has erected portraits of the two leaders, one showing Trump waving in front of the US and Vietnamese flags.

A source close to the planning of tonight’s Kim-Trump dinner tells CNN that as of a few hours ago the chefs were struggling to get a menu approved because officials from both countries, especially the White House, kept adjusting the menu to make it “super simple”.

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