Top DPRK leader concludes official visit to Vietnam

HANOI - Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un boarded a train back to Pyongyang on Saturday, wrapping up his five-day stay in Vietnam for the second DPRK-US summit and his official visit to the Southeast Asian nation, Vietnam News Agency reported.

It was the first official visit to Vietnam made by Kim, chairman of the ruling Workers' Party and the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, since he became the country's leader in 2011.

Kim is also the first DPRK leader who visited Vietnam in 55 years. Kim Il-sung, the founder of the DPRK and grandfather of Kim Jong-un, visited Vietnam in 1958 and 1964.

Kim held the second summit with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, which ended without a deal.

During his official visit to Vietnam, Kim held talks with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong, and met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vietnamese top legislator Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, respectively.

At the talks and meetings, both sides agreed to facilitate high-level visits and expand exchange at all levels.