President Trump meets with Kim Jong Un

By Ben Westcott, James Griffiths, Meg Wagner and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 5:55 a.m. ET, February 28, 2019
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6:45 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Trump shakes hands with Kim

From CNN's James Griffiths

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim have met for the second time.

The two leaders clasped hands and posed in front of flags smiling as members of the international press took photos. Trump said he looked forward to a "very successful" summit.

Kim said "we have been able to overcome all the obstacles and here we are today."

In response, Trump said "it's an honor to be with Chairman Kim, it's an honor to be together in Vietnam."

"It's great to be with you, we had a very successful first summit," he added. "Some people wanted to see it go quicker, but I was very happy with how we are doing."

Trump said the two leaders' relationship is "really a good one."

Neither man responded to shouted questions from the press, most of which were targeted at Trump, one reporter audibly asking about recent revelations by the President's former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Watch the greeting:

6:30 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Trump arrives for Kim dinner

From CNN's James Griffiths

President Trump has arrived at the Metropole Hotel, where he will shortly be meeting North Korean leader Kim.

Onlookers lined the motorcade route from the hotel where Trump is staying while in Hanoi, waving and holding up their phones. The route took the US President past the North Korean embassy.

Kim's motorcade is also en route to the hotel.

6:03 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Trump and Kim heading to meeting venue

From CNN's Joshua Berlinger in Hanoi

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

According to a schedule released by the White House, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim will be arriving at the Metropole Hotel shortly, where they will be meet in person for the second time ahead of a private dinner tonight.

Nearby the hotel, which has been largely cordoned off to the public amid heavy security, the famous Lotus Water Puppet Theater has erected portraits of the two leaders, one showing Trump waving in front of the US and Vietnamese flags.

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

5:45 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

What does a North Korean win in Vietnam look like?

From CNN's Joshua Berlinger in Hanoi

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is due to meet President Trump on Wednesday evening to begin their second summit.

The outcome is highly unpredictable but experts said there are many ways Kim could declare the summit a victory.

"Kim Jong Un has several paths to a win in Hanoi -- and unfortunately Trump seems determined to make it happen," said Adam Mount, Senior Fellow and Director, Defense Posture Project, Federation of American Scientists.

"Kim gains a modest win by just showing up and repeating his performance at Singapore -- being seen to engage the United States as a nuclear power, gaining new opportunities for diplomacy and trade and raising the chance of sanctions relief from Beijing and Seoul."

Linh Pham/Getty Images
Linh Pham/Getty Images

5:03 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Reading Trump and Kim's body language

From CNN's James Griffiths

Kim and Trump shake hands during their first summit in Singapore.
Kim and Trump shake hands during their first summit in Singapore. Getty Images

A lot of what President Trump and North Korean leader Kim discuss at their second summit in Hanoi will be kept private, but can we learn anything from their body language?

Translation and interpretation expert Julie Giguere thinks so, she says their behavior at the previous meeting in Singapore showed evidence of their different cultural backgrounds and gave insight into their feelings.

"When moving from initial meeting to the summit setting, Trump invited Kim to walk ahead of him. This could be interpreted as a desire to calm the situation and the President also used his hand to guide the younger man, which can be seen as an indication of a desire to assert dominance," Giguere said in an email.

"While the two leaders spoke last time, Kim spent most of the time looking down and listening while Trump spoke in a largely conciliatory manner. Trump’s more aggressive body language and Kim patting Trump on the shoulder, both of which were interpreted as a desire to assert control, belied the apparent passivity on both sides.” 

She added it was important for observers to take into account differences in American and North Korean etiquette.

"The bow plays an important role in Korean greetings and etiquette in general. This is one of the ways in which Trump could show a small amount of recognizable politeness and respect to the North Korean leader without being too friendly, especially given they have met before," Giguere said.

"Giving a straight 'no' is simply not done in North Korean business etiquette. You might suggest a 'maybe,' but you would never just say 'no.' It's an easy way to be very rude and this is something on which the President should certainly have been advised."

4:59 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Trump: China, Russia, Japan and South Korea will be "very helpful" with North Korea talks

From CNN's James Griffiths

President Trump has tweeted again from Hanoi, where he is due to be meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a couple hours, saying the pair will "try very hard to work something out" with regard to denuclearization.

He added that he believes "China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful!"

5:03 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Will Kim stop in China on way home?

From CNN's Yoonjung Seo in Hanoi

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to his meeting with President Trump by train, passing through China on the way to Vietnam.

There's one person in his retinue whose presence suggests he may be planning to stop in China on the way back home: Kim Song Nam.

Kim Song Nam is known as a longtime adviser to the Kim family on China matters, and has acted as the North Korean leader's Chinese interpreter in the past. While he also holds the position of deputy minister of international affairs, his presence would seem to add weight to reports in the South Korean media speculating that Kim Jong Un would stop in Beijing to brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on his latest meeting with Trump.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife seen during a visit to Beijing in January.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife seen during a visit to Beijing in January. Associated Press

5:04 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Hanoi goes nuts for limited edition summit coins

From CNN's Josh Berlinger in Hanoi

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

People were lined up outside the Vietnam Stamps Company from 6 a.m. this morning, three and a half hours before the shop opened, to get their hands on 500 limited-edition coins commemorating the second summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim.

Each of the coins cost 500,000 Vietnamese dong each (about $22) and sold out in three hours. On the front, it features the flags of the US and North Korea, embossed in silver, along with a dove and the slogan "World peace."

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

Do Huu Tuyen told CNN he got there at 9 a.m. and waited about three hours to get his coin, one of the last sold. Do, an agriculture student, said he was fascinated by the Hanoi summit and he wanted a keepsake to mark the occasion.

A commemorative coin issued by the White House Communications Agency ahead of Trump's last meeting with Kim in Singapore was a big success, attracting over a thousand orders in the first day.

That coin, in silver, white, red and blue, sparked some controversy for referring to Kim as North Korea's "Supreme Leader," a title not usually used by the US.

8:25 a.m. ET, February 27, 2019

Trump-Kim summit does wonders for t-shirt sales

From CNN's Josh Berlinger and Viet Vu in Hanoi

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

Truong Thanh Duc normally sells about 30 shirts a day out of his shop in Hanoi’s old quarter, where he’s worked the last 20 years.

This week he’s selling 500 a day, almost all of which are emblazoned with President Trump and North Korean leader Kim’s faces. The shop has sold a total of about 3,000 so far. 

According to Truong, the only time he's ever sold more shirts was when the under-23 Vietnamese football team made the semifinals last year.

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN

Truong says he supports Hanoi hosting the summit irrespective of his business. 

“This is an event to promote peace,” he said. He hopes Kim Jong Un will choose a path of peace and reform like Vietnam did.

Josh Berlinger/CNN
Josh Berlinger/CNN