DPRK-USA Summit 2019: RoK expert hails Vietnam’s great diplomacy

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Lee, also the President of the Korean Geopolitical Research Institute, told Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in the Republic of Korea (RoK) that Vietnam is capable of hosting any historic event as the country shows its warm and friendly welcome to both US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un.

US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: AP

There were no incidents, diplomatic mistakes or protocol errors at the second meeting between the two leaders, he said, expressing his belief that many countries will look for a safe and friendly place like Vietnam to organise their important conferences.

Regarding the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit Vietnam which ended on February 28 without an agreement, he said this was due to differences in Trump and Kim’s stances on the nuclear issue. Trump wanted complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula while Kim wanted step-by-step action with the US’s removal of economic sanctions in response.

Lee did not show a pessimistic attitude towards the future of negotiations between both sides as they are in the first step to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

He added that the US and the DPRK will likely discuss the upcoming summit in the second half of this year.