North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday expressed gratitude to Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong for having hosted his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, a day after the high-profile meeting ended with no deal.

At the outset of their talks at the Presidential Palace, Kim told Trong, who doubles as general secretary of the Communist Party, "I really appreciate our Vietnamese friends for their efforts to guarantee our activities and accommodations in a cordial manner."

[VNA/Kyodo]

The North Korean and Vietnamese leaders also confirmed the traditional friendly relations between the two countries.

Kim arrived at the palace along with North Korean officials such as Kim Yo Jong, the leader's younger sister and close aide. After getting out of a black limousine, Kim Jong Un, wearing his trademark Mao suit, shook hands and exchanged words with Trong.

During a welcoming ceremony outside the palace, a military band performed the North Korean national anthem and then Kim reviewed an honor guard with Trong.

Kim is the first North Korean leader to visit Vietnam since 1964, when his grandfather and the nation's founder, Kim Il Sung, flew to Hanoi via China to meet with then North Vietnam's leader Ho Chi Minh.

Pyongyang and Hanoi, both socialist countries, established diplomatic ties in 1950. In the decades-long Vietnam War that ended in 1975, North Korea and some other nations including China fought alongside North Vietnam against the U.S.-supported South Vietnamese government.

Amid amicable relations, North Korea and Vietnam have maintained high-level exchanges. In February, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh visited Pyongyang to have talks with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho.

(Kim leaves a hotel to meet with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong.)

Kim is scheduled to leave Hanoi on Saturday. He is expected to head home on the same special train that brought him to Vietnam via China, departing from the border town of Dong Dang.

The North Korean leader left Pyongyang last Saturday. He arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday morning after a 70-hour train trip. From Friday, he is staying in Vietnam at the invitation of Trong.

Although Trump left Hanoi on Thursday hours after the two-day summit concluded ahead of schedule, tight security remains in place in the capital.

National flags of the United States, North Korea and Vietnam had been placed along the streets of the city in celebration of the Trump-Kim summit, but the U.S. flags have started to be taken down.


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