CATEGORIES

© Copyright 2004; Hanoitimes - Economic and Urban Newspaper;

The tribune of Hanoi People’s Committee

Publication Permit: 29/GP-CBC

Editor - in - Chief: Nguyen Thanh Loi

Managing Editor: Ta Thu Giang

Email : thugiang@hanoitimes.vn

Head Office: 21 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi

Branch Office: 221 Tran Phu Street, Ha Dong District, Hanoi

WORDS ON THE STREET 70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / News
Trump touts Vietnam's economy as model for North Korea
Linh Pham 11:23, 2019/02/27
US President Trump has said that Vietnam is "thriving like few places on earth" and North Korea would be the same quickly once denuclearized.
US President Donald Trump tweeted after arriving in Vietnam that North Korea will thrive as Vietnam has done if it denuclearizes. 

“Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!” Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday [February 27]. 
 
A screenshot of Trump's Twitter

He also asked Democrats not to tell him how to handle talks with North Korea, claiming they should have acted on the issue while Barack Obama was in the White House.

Trump and Kim are set to kick off their two-day summit in Hanoi with a short meeting, followed by a dinner on Wednesday. The two leaders will then meet again the following day, most likely for one-on-one talks.

After Vietnam was chosen for the second summit, international media has attemped to find out reasons for that. The majority of news agencies and experts have attributed Vietnam’s fast economy and Vietnam-North Korea politic similarity for the choice.  

Picking Vietnam could make sense for both US and South Korea, because American officials have pointed to it as a political and economic model for North Korea to follow.

Vietnam, a former war foe of the US, has joined the global economy and become a close political as well as robust trading partner for Washington.

From 1995 to 2016, a period of heady economic growth in Vietnam, trade between the US and Vietnam grew to nearly US$52 billion from US$451 million. Hanoi is now among Washington’s fastest-growing export markets.

Vietnam's econmy has an average growth of 6%-7% for two decades. In 2018, its trade value hit US$482 billion and enjoyed a trade surplus of US$7.2 billion, according to the Vietnamese General Department of Customs. Foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments, meanwhile, reached US$35.6 billion in the same year.
 
Vietnam's GDP growth rate for years. Photo: World Bank
Vietnam's GDP growth rate for years. Photo: World Bank/BBC/FT
On the other hand, Pyongyang is one of Hanoi’s oldest friends. North Korea recognized Vietnam’s communist regime diplomatically in 1950, four years before Vietnam won its independence from France. It also provided material and personnel to Vietnam during its war against the US.

Vietnam, for its part, supported North Korea’s membership in the ASEAN Regional Forum, a dialogue on political and security issues, and sponsored reconciliation talks between North Korea and Japan.

And during North Korea’s devastating famine in the 1990s, Hanoi provided Pyongyang with rice.
Comments
Other news
20:47, 2025/01/22
Vietnam news in brief - January 22
Stay up to date with the latest news from The Hanoi Times.
20:53, 2025/01/21
Vietnam news in brief - January 21
Read The Hanoi Times for more updates about Vietnam and its capital.
08:58, 2025/01/21
Vietnamese leaders congratulate President Donald Trump on inauguration day
Vietnamese leaders expressed confidence that, under Trump's leadership, the partnership would continue to grow based on mutual respect for independence, sovereignty, and political systems.
23:10, 2025/01/20
Vietnam, Czech Republic issue Joint Statement on elevating ties to Strategic Partnership
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala have issued a Joint Statement, upgrading Vietnam-Czechia relations to a Strategic Partnership during the Vietnamese Prime Minister's official visit to the Czech Republic, from January 18 to 20.
21:52, 2025/01/20
Vietnam news in brief - January 20
Read The Hanoi Times news in brief to get the latest updates on the country.
06:05, 2025/01/20
President calls for overseas Vietnamese to join hands in nation-building efforts
The president said Vietnam will strengthen efforts to promote patriotism, fulfill aspirations, preserve the Vietnamese language, and uphold the nation’s cultural heritage among overseas Vietnamese.