Vietnam announces visit by N.Korean leader Kim, ahead of summit with Trump
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make an official visit to Vietnam in "coming days", its foreign ministry said on Saturday, as the Southeast Asian country prepares for his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump next week in the capital, Hanoi.
Kim is visiting at the invitation of Nguyen Phu Trong, the president and general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, the ministry said in a statement, but gave no further details.
The Hanoi summit on Feb. 27 and 28 follows the two leaders' historic June meeting in Singapore.
North Korea's state media have yet to confirm either Kim's trip to Vietnam or his summit with Trump.
On Feb. 26, Vietnam will ban traffic on the road Kim is expected to take to Hanoi from a train station on the Chinese border, state media said.
But it is also preparing a plan to receive Kim by air.
The preferred location for the summit is the Government Guesthouse, a colonial-era building in central Hanoi,.
They said the Metropole Hotel will be a backup location for the summit and Kim could possibly stay in the Melia hotel during his visit.
Witnesses saw workers laying communication cables in the streets behind the Metropole late on Friday.
At the same time, some foreign media organisations received a note from Vietnam's foreign ministry prohibiting live broadcasts in and around the Melia hotel and Hoan Kiem lake in the centre of Hanoi.
Published: by Radio NewsHub