American President Donald Trump and North Korean premier Kim Jong-un have rolled their publicity roadshows into the Vietnam capital of Hanoi for a second summit to discuss denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
The showmen have already acted up in front of the cameras and reporters.
Trump has praised the dictator and human rights abuser Jong-un as a great leader and offered to give North Korea a tremendous future.
For a man who always speaks in superlatives, Trump is going that extra mile to impress his counterpart.
“It is an honour to be with Chairman Kim. It’s an honour to be together in a country, Vietnam, where they have rolled out the red carpet and they are very honoured to have us,” Trump said.
Flattery from both sides
“It’s great to be with you. We had a very good first summit. Some people would like it to go quicker, but I’m satisfied. You’re satisfied. We want to be happy with what we’re doing.
“I thought the first summit was a great success. I think this one hopefully will be equal or greater than the first. And we made a lot of progress. I think the biggest progress was our relationship, which is really a good one.”
Trump clearly hopes flattery willget him everywhere with Jong-un – and he may prove to be right.
“I truly believes this successful summit is because of courageous decision by Trump,” said Jong-un.
The pair are hosting a working dinner at the city’s celebrated Metropole Hotel.
Bullet-proof train
The North Korean leader arrived in his bullet-proof train, keen to hold the summit in a pro-Communist country where he knew the government would not allow any embarrassing demonstrations against his regime.
Trump and Jong-un are talking about denuclearisation – but neither can agree what the term means.
North Korea has agreed to stepping down the country’s nuclear program in return for money from the US.
Trump believes he is buying peace, but Jong-un is unlikely to give up his nuclear arsenal while he can tease more concessions out of Trump by keeping the weapons intact.
Reportedly, both leaders are eying the prospect of picking up a Nobel peace prize for their efforts.
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