HANOI, Vietnam — The Latest on the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump (all times local):

President Donald Trump is calling the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam an “example” of what can become of North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons.

Trump paid a courtesy call Wednesday to Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong ahead of his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi.

Trump says, “We both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example as to what can happen, with good thinking.”

The Vietnamese leader says his country has “been making all necessary preparations to ensure the best conditions for the success of this very special meeting.”

Trump is thanking Vietnam for hosting the summit and for agreeing to new trade deals with American companies, including Boeing.

U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart hours before he is set to sit down with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Trump is greeting Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, whose country is hosting the second summit between the leaders of the two technically-warring nations.

The two leaders are set to sign a commercial trade agreement Wednesday before Trump is to meet with Vietnam’s prime minister.

Trump’s courtesy call to the host nation’s leadership is meant to provide Kim with a visualization of a potential future should he give up his country’s nuclear weapons in a deal with the U.S. After a decade of bloody conflict that ended more than four decades ago, the U.S. and Vietnam are now economic and strategic partners.

President Donald Trump’s eldest son is accusing Democrats of trying to distract his father during his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Donald Trump Jr. told Fox News on Tuesday that he believed the Democrats deliberately scheduled the congressional testimony of Michael Cohen, the president’s former fixer, opposite the summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Trump Jr. said that the Democrats were trying to “counterprogram the kind of progress” that could be achieved in the Vietnam gathering and that it was evidence of the “disdain” they hold for the president.

He also argued that it was proof the Democrats were more interested in scoring political points than in national security by attempting to “stymie” the denuclearization talks.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including a campaign finance violation that he says was at the direction of the president.

President Donald Trump says Vietnam, the site of his second round of nuclear talks with Kim Jong Un, is thriving economically and that North Korea could, too, if it would give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Before sitting down with Kim later Wednesday in Hanoi, Trump tweeted that “North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un.”

In a second tweet, Trump took a shot at Democrats in Washington, saying they should stop telling him what to do with North Korea and “ask themselves instead why they didn’t do ‘it’ during eight years of the Obama Administration?” </s> BANGKOK — A second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set for Vietnam’s capital from Feb. 27-28.

Trump and Kim met last June in Singapore, outreach the American president has said opened a path to peace. But that face-to-face hasn’t resulted in any solid plan for ridding the North of nuclear weapons.

The Singapore summit made history by simply being the first-ever meeting between sitting leaders of the longtime enemies. It was filled with pageantry and memorable moments, such as the first handshake, walks in a garden, and a brief glimpse inside Trump’s limousine.

This time, observers will be looking for something more concrete.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> DONG DANG, Vietnam — The Latest on the summit in Vietnam between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump (all times local):

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is being accompanied in Vietnam by a group of top lieutenants including his influential younger sister.

Kim arrived by train at the Dong Dang railway station on the China-Vietnam border on Tuesday and is on his way to Hanoi for a summit with President Donald Trump.

Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong was seen before the leader stepped out of their special train and took a black limousine waiting for him at the train station.

Before Kim Jong Un’s arrival, North Korean officials who had arrived in Vietnam in advance, including his top representative for U.S. affairs, Kim Hyok Chol, had gathered at the train station.

Also accompanying Kim Jong Un is Kim Yong Chol, a former military intelligence chief who has been deeply involved in nuclear diplomacy since North Korea entered talks early last year.

After barrelling through China for three days on his green-and-yellow armoured train, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has switched to another mode of high-security transport after arriving in Vietnam.

He’s now travelling in a massive bulletproof Mercedes encircled by bodyguards.

After arriving at Vietnam’s Dong Dang Station, Kim shook hands with Vietnamese officials and waved to the crowd before stepping into the limousine. A dozen of crew-cut bodyguards flanked the vehicle and ran in formation as it slowly rolled out of the station and headed to Hanoi, where Kim will meet President Donald Trump for their second summit.

Kim’s bodyguards also ran alongside his limousine during his summit with Trump last June in Singapore and his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last April.

Kim Jong Un’s train has arrived in Vietnam for the North Korean leader’s second summit with Donald Trump.

Vietnamese troops in crisp white uniforms and black boots stood at attention Tuesday to welcome Kim on a red carpet beneath large North Korean and Vietnamese flags at the Dong Dang railway station on the China-Vietnam border. A crowd gathered along the road near the station to wave North Korean flags and bouquets of flowers on a cold, drizzling morning.

It wasn’t clear if Kim had visited any places in China on his trip from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, to the border. Press reports speculate that he will drive the 170 kilometres to Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, ahead of his Wednesday meeting with Trump.. </s> HANOI (DPA) - North Korean and United States officials landed in Hanoi on Saturday (Feb 16) as all three countries prepare for the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported.

The two delegations are expected to organise logistical coordination for the summit, the VnExpress news site reported.

Hanoi police also said they would dispatch 96 patrol groups to crack down on crime in the 10 days preceding the summit. City landmarks will also be put on round-the-clock police surveillance.

Security for the summit is expected to be tight. While the risk of terrorism is considered extremely low in Vietnam, the capital's density makes the city harder for bodyguards on both the North Korean and US teams to secure their bosses.

Mr Trump and Mr Kim previously met in Singapore in June 2018 following a heated exchange of words, with both threatening war between their nuclear armed states.

Even though Mr Trump has portrayed the first meeting as resolving conflict over the North Korean nuclear programme, Pyongyang has done little to denuclearise the peninsula and US intelligence officials say the country is unlikely to totally disarm.

But as the second summit looms, Vietnam, a former wartime foe of the US, has offered to mediate discussions between Pyongyang and Washington, urging both sides to show restraint.

Speaking in Hanoi in July 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he wished for North Korea to replicate Vietnam's economic development and reconciliation with the US. </s> HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — US President Trump, NKorea’s Kim Jong Un begin 2nd day of nuclear summit talks in Vietnam amid hopeful talk, skepticism. </s> President Donald Trump to announce second summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, to be held Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump to announce second summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, to be held Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam. </s> North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will arrive in Vietnam on February 25 ahead of a planned second summit with US President Donald Trump. The pair are expected to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsular. Mr Trump previously claimed the US would have been 'in a major war with North Korea with potentially millions of people killed', had he not been elected. </s> N. Korea leader Kim Jong Un heads out for official visit with Vietnamese leaders a day after summit breakdown with Trump

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — N. Korea leader Kim Jong Un heads out for official visit with Vietnamese leaders a day after summit breakdown with Trump. </s> The streets of Hanoi are lined with armed soldiers and military vehicles, and packed with well-wishers eager to witness history.

WHEN Lee Parry heard that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump would meet in Hanoi, he knew that he wanted to be part of the action and soon booked a trip. He joined the Trump-Kim Vietnam Summit Tour being put on this week by a travel company whose slogan offers "destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from" - including North Korea.

The trip to the Vietnamese capital is not exactly a daring one, but a chance for visitors to be part of the flurry surrounding Mr Trump and Mr Kim's second meeting this week. "It's a lot better than seeing it on Twitter or Facebook," said Mr Parry, 36, a British student living in China. "To be at the forefront of that and to get to see it in the flesh was too good to pass up."

On the agenda are several well-trodden stops on the Hanoi tourist trail: the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, the war museum and the former "Hanoi Hilton" jail where American prisoners of war including John McCain were held during the Vietnam War. Also included are some summit-specific sites such as the Melia Hotel, where Mr Kim is expected to stay.

"If it ends up being successful, if it ends up being a good summit, we've witnessed history in the making," said Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) director Gareth Johnson. YPT is the firm that took US student Otto Warmbier to North Korea, where he was convicted of subversive activities for trying to steal a propaganda poster and detained for 18 months, dying shortly after being released.

Mr Kim arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday following a marathon 4,000 km journey through China on his trademark olive green armoured train.

The capital's streets were lined with armed soldiers and military vehicles - highly unusual for a foreign leader's visit to Vietnam. Hanoi's historic downtown was also packed with well-wishers who, like the YPT group, were eager to witness history. For some, it was a repeat affair. "I went to Singapore for the first summit and now I'm here because I'm just wishing for the best. I hope they make a good connection here," said a South Korean tourist, waving the Vietnamese flag.

Vietnam's national railway service got in on the action too, offering all journalists registered to cover the summit free train travel until the end of March. Also seeking to make the most of the event, Vietnam will unveil a special stamp collection on Tuesday to mark the Hanoi summit. AFP
U.S. President Donald Trump lands in Vietnam's capital for the summit.