Trump says Kim will make ‘wise decision’ ahead of Hanoi summit

February 25, 2019

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will make a “wise decision” as they are set to meet in Vietnam for a second summit this week.

Ahead of his planned departure later in the day, Trump said North Korea could rapidly become an “economic powerhouse” through “complete denuclearization.”

“Without it, just more of the same,” he tweeted. “Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!”

Trump is scheduled to leave Washington D.C. for Hanoi at 12:30 p.m. (local time).

Senior North Korean and U.S. officials are holding nuclear negotiations in the capital city of Vietnam, with the two leaders set to meet on Wednesday and Thursday.

The upcoming summit is expected to focus on how the two sides should exchange denuclearization measures and corresponding rewards.

A resident hangs the national flags of Vietnam, North Korea and the United States at his house near JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi on Feb. 21, 2019. The second U.S.-North Korea summit is slated for Feb. 27-28 in the Vietnamese capital. (Yonhap)

A resident hangs the national flags of Vietnam, North Korea and the United States at his house near JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi on Feb. 21, 2019. The second U.S.-North Korea summit is slated for Feb. 27-28 in the Vietnamese capital. (Yonhap)