Trump Conveys ‘Great Respect’ for Kim, as North Korean Leader Compares Scene to ‘Fantasy Movie’

Long-awaited nuclear negotiations between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were underway in Vietnam on Thursday morning, after a whirlwind day on Capitol Hill that threatened to steal the spotlight from the second historic summit between the two leaders.

“I just want to say: I have great respect for Chairman Kim, and I have great respect for his country,” Trump told reporters as he sat at a table across from Kim in Hanoi. “And I believe it will be something — hard to compete with for other countries. It has such potential.” . . .

Kim, for his part, said the “whole world” was watching the talks and suggested that, for some, the image of the two “sitting side by side” must resemble “a fantasy movie.”

Trump added that while reaching a lasting agreement was critical, “speed is not important.” The two leaders then retired to begin their negotiations privately, but were photographed shortly afterwards walking on the Metropole hotel’s pool patio, where they were joined by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean official Kim Yong Chol.

Trump, Kim and their aides were in Hanoi after long journeys by plane, train and automobile — Trump on Air Force One, Kim in an armored railcar and limousine — for two days of talks addressing perhaps the world’s biggest security challenge: Kim’s nuclear program, which stands on the verge of realistically threatening targets around the planet. (Read more from “Trump Conveys ‘Great Respect’ for Kim, as North Korean Leader Compares Scene to ‘Fantasy Movie'” HERE)

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