The Summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un that took place last week in Hanoi, Vietnam, did not have the results everyone was expecting
The summit took place last week on February 28th in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi and it started with the two world leaders having dinner and a private meeting at the five-star Metropole hotel.
The main topic of the summit was, of course, the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula on which there have been little progress made since the first summit in Singapore when they initially discussed this, nine months ago.
Trump arrived in Hanoi by plane last Tuesday, a few hours after Kim arrived by train, and the summit was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. They were also joined during the summit by the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who arrived on Tuesday morning as well.
Even though the summit did not have any major results nor a final solve for the denuclearization issue, on Saturday, the US and South Korea did decide to end two major military exercises in an effort to reduce tensions with North Korea. However, it was reported that during the summit, north Korean hackers targeted more than 100 locations, some in the US, and some in allied nations. It is thought the purpose of this was the intention of North Korea to access the intellectual property of the targeted US banks and energy companies.
Moreover, Kim wants the US to end economic sanctions against North Korea, but Trump will not do that unless the Korean leader agrees to the plan for denuclearization. Also, Kim would like a peace declaration formally ending the Korean War that ceased in 1953 with an armistice. It seems the reason for which the discussions did not have a concrete result were the American sanctions after all.
Why Vietnam?
Vietnam was chosen as the location for this historic summit for many reasons. One would be because it has diplomatic relations with both countries, despite once having been enemies with the US, thus showing how the US can mend ties with a former adversary.
Plus, even though both Vietnam and North Korea are communist countries, Vietnam has opened up to foreign investment over the last few decades, becoming one of the fastest growing economies in Asia.
Also, it was reported that President Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong signed trade deals of $20bn that secured contracts for Vietnamese airline firms to purchase US made planes and technology.
