Trump-Kim summit 2019: Koreans in Vietnam express hope for second meeting acting as catalyst for reunification

Chang Eun-sook, a South Korean based in Hanoi, is holding out hope for next week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

As a member of the 60,000-strong Korean community in Vietnam’s capital, she wants both Koreas – technically still at war with each other, though a ceasefire was signed in 1953 – to agree to a peace deal and eventually move towards reunification.

For the US, which has maintained a military presence in South Korea for decades, denuclearisation is a prerequisite to a declaration of peace that would boost Kim’s reputation and possibly ease global sanctions against Pyongyang.

Chang, the CFO of Korean firm Hana Engineering and Constructions in Hanoi, remembers how her father, who was born in North Korea, was never able to return to his hometown because of the war.

“Many South Koreans in Vietnam have their own stories to tell and are especially excited about the summit. We are grateful to be part of this historic moment. I believe the Hanoi summit can be a turning point for the Korean peninsula,” said Chang, who is also vice-president of Hanoi’s Korean Association.