North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un arrived in Hanoi, where he will have a private dinner-meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday. The world eyes the meeting between the two leaders with great anticipation as it looks for some tangible progress between the nations over denuclearisation of North Korea.
Post a historic initial meeting in Singapore in June that produced only a vague statement about denuclearisation, the second date must deliver more concrete steps towards dismantling Pyongyang's arsenal, analysts say. Vietnamese officials were present to greet Kim at the Vietnamese town of Dong Dang.
The normally sleepy border station of Dong Dang spruced itself up for Kim's arrival after the young leader emulated his grandfather with a 4,000-kilometre, two-and-a-half-day odyssey through China aboard his olive green train.
While North Korea seeks removal of US involvement in security of the South, US seeks to completely dismantle North Korea's nukes.
As Kim strolled down the red carpet waving, surrounded by security personnel, military guard of honour in pristine white uniforms presented arms. Trump and Kim will be joined by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo for the dinner. Hanoi is a curious choice of venue for the meeting indeed. While for North Korea, Vietnam is a country that defeated US, for US, the country's communist party is foe turned friend.
Local official Hoang Thi Thuy, said she had waited in the cold rain since before dawn for a glimpse of Kim, the first North Korean leader to visit fellow one-party state Vietnam since his grandfather Kim Il Sung in 1964.
Wearing his trademark Mao-style black suit and flanked by his troops of bodyguards, Kim was ushered into a waiting Mercedes Benz and his motorcade rolled off towards Hanoi, where crowds lined the streets and armoured personnel carriers patrolled the roads.
Trump was taking a more conventional route on Air Force One to the meeting and was expected to arrive in Hanoi late Tuesday. He tweeted he was looking forward to a "very productive" second summit.
The US president again dangled the carrot of economic progress for North Korea if it gives up its nuclear programme.
"With complete Denuclearisation, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse," tweeted Trump. "Without it, just more of the same." "Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!"
The two leaders have indeed come a long way from flinging personal insults and threats of destruction to Trump declaring he had fallen "in love" with Kim through an exchange of letters.
But many North Korea watchers dismissed the Singapore summit as a meeting fit for television, as it did not produce a concrete roadmap to denuclearisation and stressed that the Hanoi meeting must deliver more.
House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One the two leaders would dine together Wednesday with close advisors.
Pyongyang sees denuclearisation more broadly, seeking an end to sanctions. In the run-up to the summit, Trump appeared to lower US demands for Pyongyang, repeatedly saying there was no rush to rid the North of its arsenal as long as missile and nuclear tests stopped.
"I don't want to rush anybody. I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy," said Trump.
He also hinted more summits could follow the Hanoi meeting, reducing expectations of a dramatic breakthrough in the Vietnamese capital.
Pyongyang insists it has already taken major steps, by not testing ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons for more than a year, and blowing up the entrances to its atomic test site.
The North also wants increased security guarantees, which could come in the form of a declaration of an end to the 1950-53 Korean War — that ended with an armistice instead of a full peace treaty — or opening liaison offices.