TOP leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met last night in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit to discuss concrete ways for peace on and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled in their first encounter at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, where the two leaders were slated to briefly sit down one-on-one before having a social dinner, opening their two-day summit.

The handshake was made with flags of the DPRK and the United States standing behind them. A banner hanging above the flags read “Hanoi Summit” both in English and Korean.

They were expected to hold a discussion today, joined by their respective delegates.

Issues such as a roadmap for denuclearization, the easing of sanctions against the DPRK and whether to issue a war-ending declaration are expected to be high on the agenda.

The summit came about eight months after the first Kim-Trump meeting in Singapore in June last year.

Earlier in the day, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China appreciated the unremitting efforts of the DPRK and the United States to promote the political settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

After the meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India held in Wuzhen of eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, Wang told the press that the summit between Kim and Trump would mark a major event in the DPRK-U.S. relationship and draw the world’s attention.

He said the “double suspension” was realized on the peninsula since the first DPRK-U.S. summit, and China expected the second summit would mark an important step in promoting the denuclearization and building the peace mechanism on the peninsula by using the dual-track approach.

“We hope both the DPRK and the United States can show sincerity, release goodwill, clear up contradictions and foster trust,” Wang said.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Tuesday that the United Nations welcomes the summit.

Guterres in his January press briefing said it was high time to make sure that negotiations between the United States and the DPRK start again seriously and that a roadmap is clearly defined for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Dujarric recalled.

But the spokesperson said he did not want to “predict or project what the outcomes of this summit will be,” but would react to it, “depending on what it said.”

The first DPRK-U.S. summit resulted in improved bilateral ties. In a joint statement signed after their meeting, Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to the DPRK while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

(Xinhua)