Vietnam holds USA-DPRK summit press conference

February 25, 2019 - 04:16 PM

Vietnam has been chosen as a place for the second Kim-Trump summit because the country is a safe destination, and has a good relationship with both North Korea and the US, an official has said at a press conference.

Vietnam has been chosen as a place for the second Kim-Trump summit because the country is a safe destination, and has a good relationship with both North Korea and the US, a local official said at an international press conference held in Hanoi on Monday morning.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Le Hoai Trung answers journalists at an international press conference on the USA-DPRK summit held in Hanoi on February 25

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Le Hoai Trung stressed that the summit was a good chance for Vietnam to promote its image and make a contribution to world peace.

Trung said North Korean head Kim Jong Un would pay an official visit to Vietnam during the event but the date was not entirely confirmed. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's trip to the country would not be an official visit but the US leader will also have meetings with Vietnamese leaders on bilateral co-operation of the two countries.

The official didn't disclose the sum of money used to prepare for the event, but stressed that safety and security were the most important issues.

Trung announced that US President Donald Trump would arrive at Noi Bai International Airport on the evening of February 26 but he refused to confirm whether the two leaders would stay in the JW Marriott and Melia hotels as widely trailed in the media.

The press conference was co-chaired by chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung who said that the city has finished preparations and was ready for the summit.

Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung speaks at the press conference

"We’ll try our best to ensure utmost safety for the summit," Chung stressed. "We will also run 40 free double-decker buses for international reporters."

The Hanoi leader also invited reporters to visit different tourist spots in the city and learn more about the lives of local people.

Also attending the conference, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Hung said that nearly 3,000 reporters from over 200 news agencies in nearly 40 countries and territories were arriving in Vietnam for the summit, which is a much higher number than at the APEC event in Danang in 2017.