Letter from Hanoi: Ahead of second Trump and Kim summit, the incentives for progress are there for all to see

Kim Jong-un's motorcade travels through the streets of Hanoi
EPA
Will Ripley26 February 2019

As Air Force One was readied to wing Donald Trump over to Vietnam, and Kim Jong-un’s luxurious armoured train wound its way from Pyongyang, the focus of attention here Vietnam’s capital was on the hotel it was thought the North Korean leader would be staying.

Just hours ahead of their second summit, Kim’s accommodation was still a closely guarded secret. But the cat appeared to be out of the bag when his security detail turned up in force to inspect the exclusive Melia Hotel, followed by a squad from the Vietnamese army to perform a security sweep.

All bets were off when guests had notes slipped under their doors to let them know that a “world leader” would be joining them. As night fell, a line of reporters began to assemble outside the hotel, hoping to get a first look at Kim Jong-un’s arriving motorcade.

How success will be defined in this second meeting remains less clear.

There appears to be some difference of opinion between President Trump and his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on this issue. After Trump pronounced there was “no nuclear threat” from North Korea, Pompeo instead told my colleague Jake Tapper that the risk of nuclear conflict had only been “substantially taken down”.

Evidence is scant for either interpretation. Working towards the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” remains the ultimate goal from last June’s Singapore summit, but North Korea probably has more fuel to make nuclear weapons than it did at the start of this process, and retains its full arsenal.

Kim arrived in Hanoi basking in all the legitimacy this second summit provides, without having had to make a single meaningful concession.

What the United States wants here is something more tangible: a commitment from North Korea to take real steps to reduce its nuclear capabilities, and a chance for Trump to gain domestic vindication for his controversial approach to the rogue state.

Kim wants something even less abstract: economic relief from painful sanctions and normalised relations with what remains the world’s most powerful economic and military power.

There could scarcely be greater inspiration for Kim than the venue for this meeting.

Hanoi rose from the ashes after bitter and debilitating conflict with the United States. Now Vietnam is an emerging economic powerhouse in Asia, enjoying seven per cent growth last year and attracting investment from all over the world. The incentives for progress are here for all to see.

Will Ripley is International Correspondent at CNN

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