Leader Kim Jong-un officially visits Vietnam

At the invitation of General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, North Korean President Kim Jong-un will pay an "official friendship visit" to Vietnam for two days, starting from March 1, after the second summit with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, according to the Korean Central News Agency.KCNA.

This is the first time a North Korean leader has officially visited Vietnam in 55 years, since the visit of Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of President Kim Jong-un, in 1964.

Chairman Kim Jong-un is expected to hold talks with General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, lay a wreath at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs, then lay a wreath and visit President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

North Korea was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, in 1950, after China and the Soviet Union. North Korea trained hundreds of Vietnamese students in the 1960s and 1970s, provided aid and sent hundreds of military pilots to support Vietnam in its war against the US.

The Vietnam-North Korea friendship was strengthened by high-level visits by the two countries' leaders. In 1957, President Ho Chi Minh visited North Korea and North Korean Premier Kim Il Sung visited Vietnam a year later. In June 1961, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong paid an official visit to North Korea. Three years later, Kim Il Sung returned to Vietnam in November 1964.

Diplomatic relations between Hanoi and Pyongyang have been significantly strengthened since the late 2000s with visits such as the visit to North Korea by former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh in 2007 and former Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh in 2008. Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong Nam and Premier of the North Korean cabinet Kim Yong Il visited Vietnam in 2001 and 2007, respectively.

During the visit to Vietnam by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in November 2018, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh affirmed that Vietnam is ready to share with North Korea its experience in nation building, socio-economic development and international integration based on North Korea's requests.

During Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh's official visit to North Korea on February 12-14, Mr. Ri thanked Vietnam for its stance and efforts in promoting the dialogue process for peace, security, cooperation and development on the Korean peninsula.

Mr. Kim Jong-un arrived at Dong Dang station, Lang Son on February 26 and then traveled by car to Hanoi to attend the second summit with the US President. The US-North Korea summit ended yesterday without any agreement. However, Washington emphasized that the two leaders "had very good and constructive meetings", and expressed expectations for future conferences.

In a press conference after the summit, President Trump said that the summit between him and Chairman Kim did not reach an agreement due to disagreements on sanctions, as North Korea "wanted the lifting of all sanctions" before dismantling the Yongbyong nuclear complex. Trump and his advisers were not willing to comply with this request.

However, at a press conference last night at the Melia Hotel, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said they only asked Washington to lift 5 out of 11 sanctions, in return Pyongyang would completely and permanently destroy nuclear production facilities, including plutonium and uranium, and allow US experts to inspect.