Democratic People's Republic of Korea Chairman Kim Jong-un pays an official friendly visit to Vietnam on March 1 and 2, 2019

The official website of NHK, Japan’s largest broadcasting corporation, ran an article entitled “Chairman Kim Jong-un: First official visit after the DPRK-USA summit in Vietnam”, reporting on the Vietnam visit by the DPRK leader with an official welcome ceremony taking place at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. According to NHK, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong said the visit is of great historical significance while the DPRK leader expressed his thanks for Vietnam’s wholehearted support for the DPRK during the summit.

The Nikkei Asian Review has a story analyzing the Vietnam-DPRK relationship after the DPRK-USA summit in Hanoi. The article says the DPRK leader wanted to promote friendship with Vietnam and thanked the Vietnamese government for hosting the second DPRK-USA summit.

According to the KCNA, Chairman Kim expressed his hope to boost cooperation, increase exchanges with Vietnam in various fields, and raise bilateral ties to a new height.

Yang Dan Zhi, an expert in East Asian affairs of the China Institute for Social Sciences said that Chairman Kim’s visit to Vietnam shows that the DPRK wants to open its door to the wider world: “After the visit to Vietnam, Chairman Kim Jong-un sees how a socialist country, by opening its door, can escape poverty to grow rapidly and gain prosperity. While being persistent to the leadership of the Communist Party and socialism, Vietnam can still develop rapidly, open its door, and integrate into the world.”

Yang XI Wu of the China Institute of International Affairs Research said: “After surveying the growth model and experience of China and Vietnam, the DPRK will find its own development path.”