THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Vietnam's FM meets his N. Korean counterpart to discuss Kim Jong-un's visit to Hanoi

With less than two weeks left until the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. sit down for their summit in Hanoi,it looks like the details of Kim Jong-un's visit to Vietnam has been finalized.

Vietnamese foreign minister Pham Binh Minh met with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho on Wednesday,on the second day of his three-day trip to Pyeongyang.

They vowed to develop the friendly ties between their nations,that was built by the North's founding leader Kim Il-sung and former Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh.

According to North Korea's state-run media,they also shared views on international issues of mutual interest. The top diplomats are said to have finalized coordination on the details of Kim Jong-un's visit to Hanoi for his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump later this month.

It also looks likely Kim will be visiting Vietnam as a guest of the Vietnamese state,which means the leaders of North Korea and Vietnam will come face-to-face for the first time in 55 years.

Many pundits also say Kim Jong-un could tour Vietnam's infrastructure to benchmark the Southeast Asian country's economic development.




Seoul and Washington's top diplomats will meet in Poland on Thursday, ahead of the second North Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for late February in Vietnam.

South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet on the sidelines of the two-day ministerial summit on peace and security in the Middle East.

Kang says the key agenda will be to lay the groundwork for the second Kim-Trump summit, as well as evaluating U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun's recent visit to Pyeongyang.

Kang will propose areas that South Korea can contribute to for another successful summit and let the U.S. know of the outline of the "corresponding measures" South Korea expects from Washington.



The European Union has disclosed its tentative blacklist of countries that pose a threat.

The list,consisting of 23 nations includes North Korea, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

The European Commission says the list is aimed at protecting the EU's financial system from the risks posed by these nations and to crackdown on money laundering.

The list will be finalized following the endorsement of all 28 EU member-states and the European Parliament.

Source: Arirang News