International wire service reporters who are core members of the pooling coverage were excluded at the last minute from observing the start of the dinner
HANOI, Vietnam – In front of a backdrop of American and North Korean flags as he shook hands with Kim Jong Un at the start of their second summit, U. S. President Donald Trump denied that he has walked back his pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
Asked by a reporter if they would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which was halted with an armistice in 1953, Trump replied: “We’ll see.”
The North Korean leader and Trump – prior to dinner — immediately went into an adjacent room at Hanoi’s Metropole Hotel for a brief meeting with only their interpreters present.
A small group of reporters, in the room for the opening moment of the discussion, heard Kim praise Trump for his “courageous decision” to begin their dialogue, which started last year in Singapore.
“We made a lot of progress and I think the biggest progress was our relationship which is really a good one,” Trump said to Kim, noting that Vietnam had “really rolled out the red carpet” for their follow-up encounter, adding he hopes this one is equal or greater.
Trump Confident US-N. Korea Summit Will Be ‚Very Successful‘
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Trump, elaborating on comments he had made earlier in the day to their Vietnamese hosts, told Kim that North Korea has unbelievable and unlimited economic potential.
“I look forward to watching it happen and to helping it to happen and we will help it to happen,” said Trump.
Joining Trump for the dinner were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. At the round table with Kim for the meal were Kim Yong Chol, who is vice chairman of the powerful central committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and North Korea’s foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho.
