Vietnam welcomes the
second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un and is willing to contribute to its success, said a spokesperson after Trump
announced he will meet with Kim in the Southeast Asian country later this month.
“Vietnam strongly
supports dialogues aimed at maintaining peace, security and stability on the
Korean Peninsula. Vietnam stands ready to make positive contributions, and
coordinate efforts with related parties to make the second US-North Korea summit
a success,” said Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang
in a statement on February 6.

During his second
State of the Union on Wednesday, Trump said the second gathering between him and
Kim will take place in Vietnam in February 27-28, but did not specify where in
Vietnam the summit will be held. Hanoi and Da Nang, a coastal resort city in the
country’s central region which hosted the APEC summit in November 2017, are two
possible locations.
According to some
experts, Vietnam’s geographic proximity to North Korea, the country’s economic
success after the normalization of diplomatic ties with the United States, and
its neutral stance are factors behind its being chosen as the venue for the next
summit.
In his speech, Trump
said his relationship with North Korea's leader is "good" and progress has made
in his administration's efforts to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula.
The president,
however, said much work remains to be done and gave an ominous warning about the
risks of heightened tensions with North Korea, going so far as to claim that
Washington and Pyongyang would be at war if he had not been elected president.
After the first
face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in Singapore last June, Trump
declared that North Korea's nuclear arsenal no longer posed a threat to the
United States. However, limited progress has been made.