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Meaghan Tobin

The much-anticipated second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was cut short on Thursday with no agreement on denuclearisation, sanctions relief, or peace on the Korean peninsula.
It was a high-stakes meeting for Trump who aimed to get Kim to give up Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal, after critics panned the first summit in Singapore for yielding few results.
Trump-Kim failed, but can Abe reach North Korea through China?
But talks in Hanoi collapsed as Pyongyang wanted international sanctions lifted entirely, Trump said.
At a Thursday afternoon meeting with media, he said it was better to “do it right, rather than do it fast”.


What went right?
The chemistry and the place. Both men exchanged smiles, handshakes and pleasantries and promised a “great” outcome when they first met on Wednesday night.
No details of a possible agreement were given but the White House released Trump’s schedule late on Wednesday. It showed he would have a one-on-one meeting with Kim at 9am local time, followed by an expanded bilateral meeting at 9.45am, then a working lunch at midday, a signing ceremony at 2.05pm and a press conference at 3.50pm.
How Trump and the US fell for Kim Jong-un’s deadly strategic deception
The talks in Hanoi also allowed Trump to use Communist-ruled Vietnam – one of the world’s fastest growing economies, which expanded by 7 per cent last year – as an example of how North Korea could thrive if it gave up its nuclear missiles.
What went wrong?
The first inkling that things were not going smoothly came when the Thursday morning one-on-one meeting ended 10 minutes ahead of schedule. At the second meeting with aides, Trump emphasised there wouldn’t be immediate results.
Kim, in a rare response to Western reporters, said he would not be in Hanoi if he was not willing to denuclearise. He added: “Can you give us more time [to ourselves]? Even one minute is very important.”
North Korea’s first sister Kim Yo-jong lurks and steals the spotlight
Then came a string of updates – first, that lunch was delayed, then cancelled, along with the signing ceremony. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders then told reporters Trump’s press conference would be rescheduled to start two hours earlier at 2pm local time. She later released a statement to say no agreement had been reached.
Who were the winners and losers of the Trump-Kim summit?
At the press briefing, Trump insisted the lack of a deal at the “productive” summit did not mean he was on bad terms with Kim.
“I think the relationship is very warm,” he said. “And when we walked away, it was a very friendly walk.”
What’s next for Kim and North Korea?
Kim Jong-un returning empty-handed from Hanoi wouldn’t serve his interests, said Lami Kim, a former South Korean diplomat now teaching at the University of Hong Kong.
North Korean media reports in the run-up to the talks anticipated sanctions relief and “it is hard to believe that [they] asked for full sanctions relief, because I am sure they understand that the US would never have accepted it,” she said.

The North Korean delegation attempted to seize back the narrative on Thursday when they called a rare, late-night press briefing.
Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho contradicted Trump, saying Pyongyang had made “realistic proposals” and sought only to partially lift sanctions that were hurting its economy and people’s livelihood.
Arrogance, miscalculation caused Trump-Kim talks to fail
Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said Kim Jong-un “got the feeling that he didn’t understand the way Americans calculate”.
Choe added Kim Jong-un “may have lost the will” to negotiate with Trump after the US side rejected a partial lifting of sanctions in return for destruction of the Yongbyon nuclear complex that has nuclear reactors and uranium enrichment facilities.
It was “something we had never offered before”, she said.
No agreement in Hanoi for Trump and Kim, but locals are delighted
But on Friday, the North’s North’s official KCNA news agency described the Hanoi meeting as “successful” and said Kim had promised Trump another encounter.
What’s next for Trump and the United States?
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on his way to the Philippines from Hanoi, said both sides could hold further meetings though there was no plan to do so immediately.
“My sense is it will take a little while. We’ll each need to regroup a little bit. But I’m very hopeful that Special Representative [Stephen] Biegun and that team will get together before too long.”

Great to be back from Vietnam, an amazing place. We had very substantive negotiations with Kim Jong Un - we know what they want and they know what we must have. Relationship very good, let’s see what happens!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

He added that both sides had made progress and hoped they could “take another big swing” when the leaders got together.
“But we didn’t get as far as we would have hoped …” he said.
North Korea denies Trump’s claims about why summit collapsed
Michael Madden, a North Korea expert at the Washington-based Stimson Centre, suggested that within a month or two, Biegun and his North Korean special envoy counterpart Kim Hyok-Chol could meet again.
Could there be a third summit?
Trump said there were no plans for a third summit but said he was positive there would be a “good outcome” in future.
Trump says Xi could be ‘more helpful’ on North Korea
Experts are doubtful about the prospects for a third summit, but agreed both sides would likely continue negotiations to narrow their differences.
Former US State Department official David Kim said: “Both leaders want to strike a deal down the road. The president just made clear that this will take time and he looks forward to meeting again with Chairman Kim.” ■
Additional reporting by wire agencies and John Power

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Trump-Kim summit

Explained: what next for North Korea after failed Trump-Kim summit?

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Trump said he walked away from his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un because Kim demanded the U.S. lift all of its sanctions, a claim that North Korea's delegation called a rare news conference in the middle of the night to deny. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

Trump insisted the lack of a deal at the “productive” summit did not mean he was on bad terms with Kim. Photo: AP

Will Kim Jong-un stop by Beijing to brief Xi Jinping about failed talks with Trump in Hanoi?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. Photo: EPA

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) and Vietnam's President Nguyen Phu Trong (L) address a ceremonial guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Friday, March 1, 2019, in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Manan Vatsayana/Pool Photo via AP)

Trump-Kim summit 2019: Xi could be ‘more helpful’, says US president

US President Donald Trump speaks at the end of the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi, which ended without an agreement. Photo: AFP

In this Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, is cheered by the children during a welcome ceremony held by Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. A special train believed to be carrying Kim Jong Un departed Beijing on Wednesday after a two-day visit by the North Korean leader to the Chinese capital. (Huang Jingwen/Xinhua via AP, File)

Trump-Kim summit 2019: Collapsed talks a risk for North Korea with silver linings for China and Japan

TOPSHOT - North Korean students read the Rodong Sinmun newspaper coverage of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visiting Vietnam for a summit in Hanoi with US President Donald Trump, on Kim Il Sung square Pyongyang on February 28, 2019. - The US-North Korea nuclear summit in Hanoi ended abruptly without a deal, with President Donald Trump saying he had decided to "walk" in the face of Kim Jong Un's demands to drop sanctions. (Photo by Kim Won Jin / AFP)

In this Feb. 27, 2019, photo, President Donald Trump, left, meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

US President Donald Trump (2nd L) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (2nd R) hold a bilateral meeting during the second US-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on February 28, 2019. (Photo by Saul LOEB / AFP)

The summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un ended with no deal. Photo: AFP

Forget Trump and Kim – North Korea’s first sister Kim Yo-jong lurks, hovers and steals the spotlight

Kim Yo-jong drew global attention when she accompanied her brother Kim Jong-un to meet US President Donald Trump in Hanoi. Photo: AP

This photo taken on February 10, 2018 and released February 11 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (R) posing with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong (L) before their meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul. A friendly face, or a mask to conceal a brutal dictatorship? South Koreans are divided on Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North's leader, and her landmark visit to their country. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS / - / South Korea OUT / TO GO WITH SKorea-NKorea-diplomacy-media-Oly-2018-KimYoJong,PROFILE by Jung Hawon REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. /

Kim Yo-jong with Kim Jong-un. Photo: EPA

Kim Jong Un, North Korea's leader, left, and Kim Yo Jong, Kim's sister, right, speak to Suh-hoon, chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), during the inter-Korean summit at the Peace House in the village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Paju, South Korea, on Friday, April 27, 2018. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to finally end a seven-decade war this year, and pursue the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula. Source: Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps/Pool via Bloomberg

Trump-Kim summit 2019: A meeting of ‘two stubborn toddlers’ hoping to play each other for suckers?

Talks collapsed in Vietnam between North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP

epa07397901 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un steps off the train to be welcomed at Dong Dang Railway Station, to start his visit to Vietnam ahead of the US-North Korea summit hosted in Hanoi, at Dong Dang town, Lang Son province, Vietnam, 26 February 2019. The second meeting of the US President and the North Korean leader, running from 27 to 28 February 2019, focuses on furthering steps towards achieving peace and complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. EPA-EFE/STR VIETNAM OUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY

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