Da Nang, Vietnam: the ‘decadent refuge’ expected to host Trump-Kim summit

The central Vietnamese coastal city has been the site of several key moments in the country’s history

During Vietnam war, it was known for prostitution, human rights violations and the storage of Agent Orange by US force, but today it’s a ‘capitalist getaway’

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The Gold Bridge near Da Nang city, which will host the next Trump-Kim summit. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:24pm, 6 Feb 2019Updated: 7:27pm, 6 Feb 2019

US President Donald Trump has confirmed his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place in Vietnam from February 27 to 28.

Experts say they are most likely to meet in the coastal city of Da Nang, which hosted last year’s Apec summit as well as the World Economic Forum.

Trump confirmed the meeting would take place in Vietnam during his State of the Union address late on Tuesday, also using the occasion to praise the progress made in the “historic push for peace on the Korean peninsula”.

“Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in 15 months,” Trump said during the address. “If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea.

“Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong-un is a good one,” he added.

While Trump has often portrayed the first meeting between the two leaders in Singapore last year as a breakthrough, critics say it has yet to produce significant progress in the stand-off over North Korea’s nuclear programme.