President Trump had already tempered expectations in the run-up to the Hanoi summit, saying he was content if North Korea continued its pause in nuclear and missile testing.
As they sat down for Thursday’s formal discussions in Hanoi, Trump said he was in “no rush” to seal a deal and that “speed was not that important” to him as long as the North’s pause in missile and nuclear testing continued. Kim is looking for relief from sanctions imposed on the North because of its weapons programmes, which saw tensions soar in 2017 before a wave of detente.
The North maintains total control over every aspect of Kim’s domestic appearances but he even answered a shouted question from a foreign reporter believed to be unprecedented saying he was “not pessimistic” about the outcome.