President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started off their second summit Wednesday in Hanoi, Vietnam, with Mr. Trump touting his relationship with the North Korea strongman and the White House barring some reporters who asked questions from the dinner with Kim.
The two men have concluded their first day, and will return Thursday morning for further meetings.
Upon their arrival Wednesday, Mr. Trump and Kim shook hands the president expressed high hopes for North Korea’s economic success. Mr. Trump touted what he described as the success of the first summit, noting that some people want denuclearization to “go faster,” but he and Kim are “happy” with the pace.
Meetings to resume in a handful of hours
The meetings between Mr. Trump and Kim will resume Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern time, or Thursday at 9 a.m. local time.
Trump tweets he had “very good dialogue” with Kim
After turning to his hotel, Mr. Trump tweeted he is having “very good dialogue” with Kim.
Menu for the Trump-Kim dinner
Here is what was on the menu for the Trump-Kim dinner, according to the White House press pool:
Shrimp Cocktail
Chilled shrimp, romaine leaves, thousand island dressing,
diced avocado, fresh lemon and herbs
~~~
Grilled Sirloin with Pear Kimchi
Marinated tender sirloin grilled with sauce,
served with kimchi fermented inside a pear
~~~
Chocolate Lava
Hot runny centered chocolate cake, chocolate crumble,
with fresh berries and vanilla ice cream
~~~
Dried Persimmon Punch
Traditional beverage sweetened with
dried persimmon and honey
Trump arrives back at hotel for the night
At 9:02 p.m. local time, or 9:02 a.m. Eastern time, the president’s motorcade arrived back at his hotel in Hanoi for the night.
The White House has not yet released a schedule for Thursday’s summit events.
Eric Trump blasts Democrats for holding Cohen hearing during summit
Mr. Trump’s son Eric Trump tweeted Wednesday that it is a “national disgrace” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are holding the hearing with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen during the president’s talks with Kim.
Cohen is scheduled to testify at 10 a.m. Eastern, or 10 p.m. local time in Vietnam.
“It is a national disgrace that on the eve of historic peace talks between the USA & North Korea, the Democrats in the House orchestrate this clownshow,” Eric Trump tweeted. “The accomplishments of @realDonaldTrump are nothing short of incredible especially in the face of such hate & adversity.”
Some reporters barred from dinner event
Ahead of the president’s dinner with Kim, some reporters who were supposed to go into the dinner — including ones who asked questions in the previous appearance — were barred from entering by the White House.
At first the White House was not going to allow any print pooler reporters into the room, citing sensitivities of shouted questions. But according to the designated print pooler, a Wall Street Journal reporter, photographers protested, and the Journal reporter was allowed into the room. Wire pool reporters were not allowed into the room.
But Sanders appeared to change her explanation, seeming to cite space as the main issue at stake.
“Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, TV, radio and print poolers are all in the room,” Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible.”
There will be a news conference, Trump says
Mr. Trump said there will be a news conference “at some point during the day” on Thursday, after the conclusion of their meetings.
Mr. Trump and Kim then broke up their brief sit-down to head to dinner.
Trump says U.S. will help North Korea attain a successful economic future
Mr. Trump said he tells anyone who will listen that he thinks North Korea will have a tremendous economic future. Moreover, the president said the U.S. will help North Korea get there, although he offered no specifics on that.
Tump says it’s an “honor” to be with Kim
After their handshake, Mr. Trump and Kim sat down for their first conversation.
Kim said there has been hostility in the past from the outside, but they’ve been able to overcome all those obstacles. Kim said he believes the last 261 days required much patience, but today he and Mr. Trump are sitting next to each other, giving Kim hope for success.
“Well I want to just say it’s an honor to be with Chairman Kim,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Vietnam has “rolled out the red carpet.”
The president added he thought the first summit was a “great success.”
The greatest progress, Mr. Trump said, is that his and Kim’s relationship is “really a good one.”
Trump, Kim shake hands kicking off second summit
The two leaders approached one another and gave a hearty handshake, formally kicking off the second summit between the U.S. and North Korea.
“I think it will be very successful,” Mr. Trump said when asked about the future of the summit. When asked if he would declare an end to the Korean war, the president replied, “We’ll see.”
The leaders will later be sitting down for a one-on-one conversation with translators present.
Motorcade arrives for meeting with Chairman Kim
Onlookers lined the president’s motorcade route en route to the Metropole hotel where Mr. Trump and Chairman Kim will be meeting. People were seen waiving and holding up their phones along the way.
Trump tweets on “false reporting” of summit details
“All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea. Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse,” Mr. Trump tweeted early Wednesday morning before his meeting with Chairman Kim.
He added that countries including China and Russia would be “very helpful” in the denuclearization efforts of the Korean Peninsula.
White House manages expectations for the summit
Senior White House staffers and the president himself have tried to lower expectations for this second summit, after North Korea showed little tangible progress towards denuclearization since last year’s meeting in Singapore.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told Fox News that only the media have high expectations for the summit, because they want to see the president fail.
“I think that the only one setting high expectations is probably the media because they’re looking for reasons to attack this president,” Sanders told Fox News last Friday. “They hate the idea that he’s done so well on something his predecessors couldn’t do anything on.”
Mr. Trump has taken a wait-and-see approach to the summit. He told the governors at the White House Sunday that he believes he and Kim “see eye to eye, I believe, but you’ll be seeing it more and more over the next couple of days one way or the other.”
Specific goals of meeting still unclear
The Trump administration’s specific goals for the meeting are still unclear. The administration has insisted denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the ultimate objective, but hasn’t been clear on how it intends to get there.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump said he was happy as long as North Korea continued to refrain from nuclear and missile tests, which it has done since before the leaders’ first summit last year.
“What’s going to happen, I can’t tell you,” Mr. Trump told governors from across the country at a dinner Sunday night. “I think eventually it would but I can’t tell you. And I’m not in a rush. I don’t want to rush anybody. I just don’t want testing. As long as there’s no testing we’re happy.”
Senior administration officials told reporters last week they hope to reach a shared definition of denuclearization, which hasn’t been reached in the eight months since the last summit in Singapore.
Trump and Kim welcomed with great excitement ahead of summit
CBS News’ chief White House correspondent Major Garrett has a look at the pre-summit activities after President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un arrived in Vietnam.
Kim arrived hours before Mr. Trump on Tuesday, after a two-and-a-half-day train ride through China. People lined the streets to get a look at the first North Korean leader to visit the country in more than 50 years.
Watch the full report in the video above.
