Trump-Kim summit 2019: US president thanks ‘helpful’ Xi Jinping as Vietnam fine-tunes security in Hanoi
- Capital is buzzing with bodyguards sweeping hotels and meeting rooms before US and North Korean leaders meet this week
- Trump tweeted that Kim ‘realises that without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the world’
“The last thing China wants are large scale nuclear weapons right next door,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets in which he praised President Xi Jinping for being “very helpful in his support” of the talks.
Trump also suggested Kim “realises … that without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World” and has “potential for rapid growth”.
At the same time, Vietnam’s no-nonsense communist authorities were pulling out all stops to ensure this week’s high-profile talks take place without glitches, with the summit venues buzzing with activity amid high security.
As diplomats tried to finalise the agenda of the meeting, Pyongyang engaged in trademark diplomatic sabre rattling – accusing the American leader’s domestic political opponents of “plotting to disrupt” the summit.
