Trump Talks Up Potential Progress With North Korea Before Summit

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump emphasized the potential for progress with a denuclearizing North Korea as he prepared to depart for Vietnam to hold a second summit with Kim Jong Un.

In three tweets on Sunday, Trump said he’s leaving for Hanoi early Monday for his meeting with the North Korean leader, and praised both the support of China and Russia and the potential for fast economic development in North Korea if it abandons its nuclear program.

“Chairman Kim realizes, perhaps better than anyone else, that without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World,” Trump said on Twitter.

Trump also praised sanctions placed on the border by China and Russia, and said Chinese President Xi Jinping has been “very helpful” in supporting talks with Kim because “the last thing China wants are large scale nuclear weapons right next door.”

“Denuclearization?” Trump ended one tweet talking about the progress he and Kim expect after their first meeting in June in Singapore, where they agreed to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Progress has sputtered since then, with no clear path outlined for achieving that goal.

Kim began the long train journey to Vietnam on Saturday for the meeting with Trump, state media reported.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.