Vietnam's top diplomat to visit North Korea ahead of summit

Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Vietnam's foreign minister is to visit North Korea on Tuesday, ahead of the planned Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Vietnam's foreign ministry tweeted Monday Pham Binh Minh, Vietnam's foreign minister and deputy prime minister, will be traveling to Pyongyang on an "official visit" Tuesday to Thursday.

Minh will be visiting North Korea upon the invitation of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, according to the Vietnamese foreign ministry.

Sources told South Korean newspaper Hankuk Ilbo Minh will leave on Air China flight CA 742, departing Hanoi at 6 a.m. Tuesday. Minh will then transfer to a plane for Pyongyang at Beijing international airport.

Minh's visit may be in preparation for the upcoming summit; Kim requires heightened security when he travels abroad and always visits China on an armored train.

Nguyen Phu Binh, a former ambassador to Seoul, said Vietnam "hopes" to hold a summit with the North Korean leader before he meets with Trump for the second time.

A South Korean diplomatic source in Hanoi told the South Korean paper Kim's planned trip would mark the first time in 54 years a North Korean leader visits Vietnam.

"From Vietnam's perspective, the state visit of a North Korean leader holds much significance," the source reportedly said.

The second summit between Trump and Kim -- set for Feb. 27-28 -- is being welcomed in Beijing, despite some of the worst tensions in decades between the United States and China.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday at a regular press briefing that China has consistently supported resolving issues through dialogue.

"We hope for and support talks that proceed smoothly and that will have a positive outcome," Hua said.