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| Analysts say the trip could offer the North Korean leader a model of post-war economic transformation under a communist state with capitalist leanings (AFP Photo/Manan VATSYAYANA) |
Vietnamese young and old expressed their delight Wednesday after hearing their country had been chosen for the second face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The
communist-run Southeast Asian country was announced during Trump's State of the
Union address as the location for the high-profile summit due to take place later
this month.
It follows
the pair's historic handshake and brief declaration on denuclearisation at
their inaugural meeting in Singapore in June last year.
The pick
brings prestige to the former US foe-turned-ally and is symbolic for Vietnamese
of a certain generation, who welcomed the move.
"Our
country now has a new position and the world trusts us," Pham Van Thau, an
82-year-old communist party member, told AFP in Hanoi.
"The
summit will help the world understand more about Vietnam."
The precise
location for the summit -- to be held on February 27 and 28 -- has not been
announced, though both the capital Hanoi and beach resort town Danang have been
rumoured.
Nguyen Hong
Nhung, a masters student, hoped the summit could expand her country's budding tourism
industry.
"We
have a chance... to show everyone that Vietnam is a beautiful country and that
the Vietnamese are friendly," she said.
Analysts
say the trip, which is set to be Kim's first to Vietnam, could offer the North
Korean leader a model of post-war economic transformation under a communist
state with capitalist leanings.
Nhung
agreed: "I think North Korea now is like Vietnam before the US embargo was
lifted, poor and economically limited."
On Facebook
and other social media platforms, users beamed with pride at the prospect of
the summit.
Commenters
on one site said Kim could even take inspiration from the country's north and
south reunifying after the war.
"They
meet in Vietnam so that Kim can see how the two parts of a country will look
like after reunification," Gia Hoang commented on otofun.net.
Vietnam is
looking to follow up on its successful hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2017 and the regional World Economic Forum last
year -- boosting its diplomatic gravitas on the global stage.
VIDEO: Hanoi residents react to the news that their capital city has been picked to host the second much-anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pic.twitter.com/kXFoymP2F8— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 9, 2019
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