Trump, Kim near opening of 2nd nuclear summit
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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- President Donald Trump enthusiastically waved a tiny Vietnamese flag today as he sought to convince North Korea's Kim Jong Un that his nation could thrive economically like Vietnam if he would end his pursuit of nuclear weapons.
"We'll see what happens, but he wants to do something great," Trump said, adding that Kim could use Vietnam as a model for economic revitalization. "If you look at what you've done in a short time, he can do it in a very, very rapid time -- make North Korea into a great economic power."
He tweeted earlier today: "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!"
Anticipation for what could come out of the summit ran high in Hanoi. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors hawking T-shirts emblazoned with their faces, stood in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
"We have a very big meeting planned tonight as you know, with North Korea, Chairman Kim, and I think it may very well turn out to be very successful," Trump told the top leaders of Vietnam.
Before meeting with Kim, the U.S. and Vietnam signed several trade deals, including agreements to sell the booming Southeast Asian country 110 Boeing planes worth billions of dollars. Boeing signed agreements with VietJet for 100 737 MAX planes and with Bamboo Airways for 10 787 Dreamliners. Sabre, a U.S.-based aviation technology company, also inked a deal with Vietnam Airlines.