A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Feb. 4 in Tokyo. Photo: Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press
BANGKOK — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Tuesday, backtracking from Monday’s rally spurred by news that President Donald Trump had pushed back a deadline for raising tariffs on imports from China to allow time for more negotiations.
Mainland China indexes rose, however, after a report in the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported that a deputy chairman of the Banking Regulatory Commission, Wang Zhaoxing, had said risks from soaring debt had been contained.
The SET was trading at 1,667.62 on Tuesday afternoon, at 0.3 percent drop. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.9 percent to 2,988.47, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.4 percent to 21,450.83. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.4 percent to 28,838.10.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 lost 1.1 percent to 6,117.80 as falling prices for oil and other commodities hit energy companies.
Overnight, stocks closed modestly higher after shedding most of their gains from an early rally spurred by the Trump administration’s decision to hold off on a March 2 increase in punitive duties on USD$200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
Investors welcomed the move, which averted an escalation in the damaging trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The fight is over U.S. complaints that Beijing steals technology or pressures companies to hand it over.
But many questions remain about the prospects for a deal that would unwind the tariffs already slapped by both sides on billions of dollars of each other’s goods. Trump’s conflicting comments on the status of the talks have added to the uncertainty, said Jingyi Pan of IG.
“As it is, we continue to view the trade matter through an opaque screen and make assumptions from the shadows of President Donald Trump,” Pan said in a commentary.
The S&P 500 index added 0.1 percent to 2,796.11. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 0.2 percent to 26,091.95, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 percent, to 7,554.46. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 0.1 percent to 1,588.81.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3 percent and India’s Sensex fell 1 percent amid mounting tensions with Pakistan. Shares were lower in Southeast Asia.
Pakistan’s military spokesman tweeted that Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan and then “released payload in haste,” but said there were no casualties. The Indian side had no immediate comment.
Energy
U.S. crude oil gave up 32 cents to $55.16 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 3.1 percent to settle at $55.48 a barrel in New York after Trump criticized rising oil prices in an early morning tweet. Brent crude dropped 20 cents to $64.56 per barrel.
Currencies
The dollar fell to 110.83 yen from 111.04 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1361 from $1.1356.
Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a speech Saturday at the Labour Women's Conference in Telford, England. Photo: Aaron Chown / Associated Press
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May returned from a seemingly unproductive meeting with European Union leaders Monday to a growing attempt by British lawmakers to stop her from taking Britain out of the EU on March 29 without a divorce deal.
With May and the EU at odds over not just how, but when Brexit should happen, her political opponents were getting increasingly desperate to take control of Britain’s muddled departure from the bloc.
At an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt, the EU warned Britain it faces the prospect of delaying its planned March 29 departure or the consequences of a chaotic exit. European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs meetings of EU nation leaders, said Monday it would be “rational” to postpone Brexit day.
May insisted she intends for Britain to leave as planned in a little more than a month. But her often divided opponents may be coalescing around a plan to prevent Britain crashing out of the EU with no agreement in place.
The main opposition Labour Party took a big step Monday toward backing a new referendum on the country’s EU membership.
The party has previously said it would support a referendum as a last resort if it could not secure a new election or make changes to May’s EU divorce deal. Britain’s Parliament has so far rejected the deal struck between May’s government and the bloc, and is due to hold a series of votes Wednesday on next steps in the Brexit process.
Labour has proposed its own withdrawal plan as an alternative to the government’s deal with the EU. The party said Monday it would back a second public vote if the House of Commons rejects its plan this week, as is widely expected.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the party is committed to “putting forward or supporting an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country.”
The party did not specify what voters might be asked to consider in any future vote, though it has previously said the option of Britain remaining an EU member would be included.
Labour has previously said it would only support a second referendum as a last resort if it could not secure a new general election or make changes to May’s divorce deal.
The change in approach follows the resignations of nine Labour lawmakers last week, partly over the party’s failure to back another Brexit referendum. It is likely to cheer many party members, who have backed calls for a so-called “people’s vote.”
While there is little chance of a second referendum taking place without the support of Labour, the path to another Brexit vote is far from clear. It would require the support of numerous lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party, for example.
Since lawmakers rejected May’s deal with the EU last month, the prime minister has sought to get changes from Brussels on a provision for the border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
The mechanism, known as the backstop, is a safeguard that would keep the U.K. in a customs union with the EU to remove the need for checks along the Irish border until a permanent new trading relationship is in place.
May wants to revise the deal to reassure opponents from her Conservative Party, as well as from a Northern Ireland party that props up her minority government, the backstop would only apply temporarily.
But EU leaders insist that the legally binding Brexit withdrawal agreement, which took a year and a half to negotiate, can’t be reopened.
The impasse has raised concerns that Britain will leave the EU without a deal, a scenario that would likely mean new tariffs on British exports and serious disruption to trade between the two sides. The Bank of England has warned that the British economy could shrink by 8 percent in the months after a disorderly Brexit.
May has said a new vote on any revised Brexit deal won’t be held this week and could come as late as March 12.
A number of British lawmakers are seeking to wrest control of the process from the government and are looking to get support for an amendment that would require May to seek an extension to the Brexit date if Parliament fails to back her deal.
“I don’t see how businesses can plan. I don’t see how public services can plan, and I think it’s just deeply damaging,” Labour lawmaker Yvette Cooper, one of those behind the move, told the BBC.
On Monday, the EU’s Tusk warned that the chances of a withdrawal agreement being concluded in time are receding, and that sticking by the planned Brexit date would be too risky.
“I believe that in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational solution,” Tusk told reporters at an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt after talks with May that he said included discussions over extending the Brexit process.
May insisted a deal in time was still possible.
“It is within our grasp to leave with a deal on 29th of March and I think that that is where all of our energies should be focused,” May said.
She said that “any delay is a delay. It doesn’t address the issue.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned her against “sleepwalking” into a chaotic Brexit next month.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable. And I think your best friends have to warn you for that,” Rutte told the BBC. “Wake up. This is real.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a habitual smoker, takes a pre-dawn smoke break Tuesday at the train station in Nanning, China, hours before his arrival in Vietnam for his high-stakes summit with President Donald Trump over resolving the international standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons and missiles. Image: Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea — It’s unclear whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is going to give up his nukes anytime soon, and the same could probably be said for his cigarettes.
Footage by Japan’s TBS TV showed Kim, a habitual smoker, taking a pre-dawn smoke break Tuesday at a train station in China hours before his arrival in Vietnam for his high-stakes summit with President Donald Trump over resolving the international standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons and missiles.
The video showed Kim puffing a cigarette and talking with North Korean officials at China’s Nanning rail station. A woman who appeared to be his sister Kim Yo Jong, also a powerful individual in North Korea, is seen holding a crystal ashtray.
Kim arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday after an almost 70-hour train ride that cut through southern China.
Despite pushing a nationwide anti-smoking campaign in North Korea, Kim is frequently seen with a cigarette in his hands. In 2017, North Korea’s state broadcaster showed him casually smoking in front of one of his liquid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles as it underwent preparations for a test launch.
BANGKOK — A party under fire from Buddhist groups for citing Buddha’s teachings as the basis for its policies has been cleared of malfeasance by the Election Commission.
In a brief statement, the commission said Tuesday it deliberated on the complaint filed against the People’s Reform Party and ruled it did not violate any election regulations.
Filed earlier this month by a group calling itself the Center for Coordination of Buddhists, the complaint urged officials to disband the party for making improper use of religion in its marquee campaign declaration.
“We humbly receive Lord Buddha’s teachings and apply them to finding solutions for the people’s grievances,” reads the party’s many campaign posters.
Speaking to reporters earlier this month, party leader Paiboon Nititawan said his faction sees Buddha as a role model for its moral crusade against corruption and abuse of power.
Filing complaints to disqualify rival parties has become the new normal since the election date was announced in January. A spokesman for the court said it has received over 100 requests to invalidate contenders for alleged legal violations. The Election Commission expects the number will only rise in the weeks remaining before the March 24 poll.
Photo: Krirakrit Worawetkulsage via Creative Migration / Courtesy
Top: Krirakrit Worawetkulsage via Creative Migration / Courtesy
BANGKOK — A 120-year-old home that once belonged to a noted Siamese reformer is opening its doors to the public as a nexus for art, culture, social innovation and more.
Since last week, anyone is welcome to walk into Bangkok 1899, an architecturally rich residence where they can sip drinks concocted from edible plants picked from the garden on their way to educational workshops, music performances and art installations.
The two-story mansion is a local adaptation of the European Renaissance Revival built in 1899. It was designed by Mario Tamagno, the Italian architect also behind the beauty of the the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, Hua Lamphong Railway Station and Neilson Hays Library.
Its original owner was Sanan Devahastin na Ayudhya, who’s known by his noble title Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri. He is well-known as the former Education Minister who proposed the idea of establishing Chulalongkorn University – Thailand’s first. In terms of recreation, the man brought football to Thailand and was also an author who composed the iconic cheerleading song “Grao Gila” that proclaims “sports, sports are magic medicine.”
Since then, it passed on to new generations. After being left unoccupied over a decade, it has found new life as Bangkok 1899, a “cultural and civic hub” established by Creative Migration, an international arts organization based in Los Angeles and Bangkok. It has received major support by The Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Motor Co. Fund.
Inspired by creative spaces and arts hubs around the world such as The Swedish Institute in Paris, Islington Mill in Manchester and The Land Foundation in Chiang Mai – Creative Migration founder Susannah Tantemsapya said she wants Bangkok 1899 to be a “light-hearted atmosphere where everyone feels welcome.”
“Our open space encourages individuals to pursue the lost art of leisure, unburdened by consumerism. Our hope is that the public can come together, experience art, have discussions and discover new avenues of creativity,” Tantemsapya said.
But a challenge remains to reaching that public. Since this is the first time in over a century it has opened to the public, many neighbors still cannot believe they’re allowed to walk through the gates.
A neighbor across the street calls the house a “palace,” Tantemsapya told Khaosod English.
“How do we get people to feel that this place is theirs too?” said Tantemsapya. “How do we make our mission and programming accessible when it can easily be viewed as high culture, more of an upper-class pursuit? This process will unfold over time, and I’m certain that we will learn valuable lessons on how to engage with the public-at-large.”
Photo: Krirakrit Worawetkulsage via Creative Migration / Courtesy
Artist Residency
On Feb. 16, which marked the soft opening of Bangkok 1899, New Zealand’s Shayne P. Carter played pinch harmonics on his electric guitar alongside Thai musicians – Piyanart “Pump” Jotikasthira of Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band, ToomTurn Molam Group and transmedia artist Arnont Nongyao.
Carter was Bangkok 1899’s first artist-in-residence.
The goal is, in exchange, that Arnont will travel to Carter’s hometown in Dunedin, New Zealand.
“There is an amazing experimental music scene down there and it’s a perfect fit for Arnont. Also, Shayne is already planning to return this winter to continue working with all his collaborators. I would say that the first residency was a big success,” said Tantemsapya.
Shayne P. Carter, fourth from left, performed with Thai musicians Feb. 16 at Bangkok 1899. Photo: Krirakrit Worawetkulsage via Creative Migration / Courtesy
“Over the past several years, I have witnessed the burgeoning landscape for arts and culture, especially in the contemporary scene. There is more international recognition, and I would like for our artist residency to contribute to the global conversation,” Tantemsapya said.
The building’s attic, which is now empty, will be turned into a space for a unique light installation by London-based contemporary Thai artist Tuck Muntarbhorn, according to Tantemsapya.
‘Social Impact Cafe’
Nestled in the back of the building is a “social impact cafe” where zero waste and sustainability are valued.
Run by Sakson “Saks” Rouypirom and Diloklarp “Him” Janthachotbutr,Na Cafeserves locally sourced beverages. Its coffee drinks are made of beans in Nan and Chiang Rai provinces. The cold-pressed juice are made mostly from fruits and vegetables planted in the garden.
In a lawn next to the cafe is a mango and papaya trees, and a small urban farm of spinach, chili, coriander, basil and many more.
“We use all parts of the fruits and vegetables to juice, cook, ferment, and make cordials,” said Saks, who is also founder ofSati (“mindfulness” in Thai), non-profit platform focused on healthcare and education for children.
Apart from serving drinks, Na Cafe will also engage refugees and street children by training them in culinary skills, “Everything from barista training to cooking classes,” Saks said. “Giving them jobs is better than giving them money.”
“Our goal is to make [Na Cafe] a space for people from all communities and walks of life to come and meet and interact and enjoy.”
Na Cafe opens 10am to 7pm, Tuesday through Sunday.
‘Home of NGOs’
Behind Bangkok 1899 is the former Satri Chulanag School, which belongs to foundation named for the home’s original owner. Abandoned nearly 20 years, the three-story schoolhouse will soon become a multi-purpose space for several non-profit organizations.
Referred to as a “home for many NGOs,” the Ford Resource and Engagement Center will be used to headquarter food security organizationScholars of Sustenance. The space provides a much-larger kitchen and washing facilities so the food waste crusaders can collect and process excess food more efficiently before it is donated to communities in need.
On a recent visit, Head of Partnerships for the center and Scholars of Sustenance, Abigail Smith, showed a terraced, vertical farm where edible plants will grow.
Using the shared facilities, the SOS will host workshops and public events. Smith said her organization expects to bring “worthwhile” educational workshops such as those on nutrition, food awareness and even home composting.
The center is funded by Ford Fund, a philanthropic project of the Ford Motor Co.
Photo: Abigail Smith / Courtesy
The center will also house what’s billed as Bangkok’s first green NGO co-working space. Nature Inc. will offer office and meeting space for three environmental organizations: the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, Love Wildlife Foundation and Big Trees.
“Nature Inc. does not only give us all a professional office space, it brings us together to address challenges, share advice, and brainstorm new ideas,” said Nancy Gibson, executive director of BCST and founder of Love Wildlife Foundation.
FREC is being under construction. It’s expected to open in April.
Bangkok 1899 is located on Nakhon Sawan Road in old town’s Nang Loeng neighborhood.
Photo: Krirakrit Worawetkulsage via Creative Migration / Courtesy
Bartender Ngo Dinh Tien presents "Rock It, Man" cocktail, inspired from Trump-Kim Hanoi summit at a bar Friday in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Hau Dinh / Associated Press
HANOI — For North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, this week’s summit in Hanoi is a chance to advance the cause of world peace. For canny entrepreneurs, it’s an opportunity to make a buck, or a dong, in Vietnamese currency.
A U.S presidential visit is a big deal anywhere, and when it’s significant enough to draw wall to wall media coverage – as last year’s first summit in Singapore did – an enterprising businessman or businesswoman takes note. Drinks will be poured, burgers will be broiled and T-shirts will be silkscreened.
When Robert Gibb, an American who has been living in Hanoi for 10 years and is co-owner of a bar near Hanoi’s old quarter, heard the summit would take place in Hanoi, he sprang into action.
Of course he was keen to mark a historic occasion, but beyond that, his Unicorn Pub is noted for the elaborate libations it concocts, such as its ‘Pho’ cocktail, mimicking the taste of the famous Vietnamese noodle soup.
The summit celebratory drink, boasts the pub’s website, “is a diplomatic blend of So Ju (Korean) and Bourbon (USA) with a flare of Fireball whiskey to match the personalities of Kim & Trump. Orange in color, it is a bit sharp & bitter, but finishes sweet, peaceful and gives you the desire to continue in a positive direction.”
The drink was dubbed the ‘Rock It, Man,’ after Trump’s less-than-complimentary “Little Rocket Man” nickname for Kim when tensions were still high over Pyongyang’s long-range missile tests.
Gibb, whose two partners in the bar include his wife Trinh Xuan Dieu, said the new cocktail’s name sounded fun and celebrates “maybe for the first time in generations, opening up a country, opening the whole part of the world that was so tense for so long.”
A “Durty Donald” and a “Kim Jong Yum” – Trump and Kim inspired burgers are freshly made Sunday in a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Hau Dinh / Associated Press
Teetotalers need not despair they will be left out. A restaurant also in the city’s old quarter has added to its summit menu burgers called the ‘Durty Donald’ and the ‘Kim Jong Yum.’
Irishman Colin Kelly acknowledged the summit is an unusual opportunity to drum up publicity for his Durty Bird fried chicken and burger restaurant.
Conceiving the special dishes was something of a must-do because his establishment already has a lot of dishes with funny names and puns, said Kelly, who founded the place with two old friends.
“For the Trump it was quite easy, because American burgers are an American staple and Mr. Trump himself is very extravagant, so that’s why we went with double beef, double bacon, double cheese, fried pickles, and then we added the chicken floss, which represents his hair, which is one of Mr. Trump’s most noticeable features,” he said.
The sauce on it is Russian dressing, Kelly added mischievously.
“And then for the Kim burger, rather than using beef, we decided to go down the pork road, so we use smoked pork belly, smoked, pulled and barbecued wild boar – which is a wild Vietnamese mountain pig – and for the Korean element, we added kimchi mayonnaise and some crispy fried kimchi as well.”
“Both burgers are topped with flags.”
“Obviously, we’d like to make a little profit, but the first idea was just to get involved to what’s happening here in Hanoi … and to create a bit of fun for ourselves and for our customers.”
Durty Bird restaurant owner Colin Kelly stands Sunday next to a menu offering Trump-Kim summit special burgers in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Hau Dinh / Associated Press
Those who have drunk and eaten their fill of Trump and Kim also have the opportunity to wear the two statesmen.
T-shirt designer Truong Thanh Duc’s creation features a portrait of a smiling Trump along with Kim, over the words “Peace Hanoi, Vietnam 2019.”
“This is the best-selling item I have ever had,” said Duc, wearing a T-shirt with Kim’s likeness at his shop in the old quarter. “We have been running full capacity, but could not meet the demand,” which he expects to increase even more with the media frenzy of the summit.
The 57-year-old Duc, who inherited the shop from his father, also produces and sells T-shirts with images of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama, and made an earlier Trump model after his 2016 election.
He said last week he had sold some 500 summit T-shirts, with half being bought by foreigners and the other by Vietnamese, mostly young people. The price is 100,000 dong (USD$4.20), and Duc said part of his profit would go to buy bread for poor people.
The summit is important, he suggested, because dialogue is better than confrontation and could bring “peace, food, clothing and other good things to the Korean Peninsula.”
Vietnam would also benefit from the event, Duc said.
His viewpoint was shared by a customer.
“This is a huge political event, attracting much attention from the whole world,” said 42-year-old Hanoi resident Nguyen Thuy Hang. “We do not want to be left out of such a big event taking place in our city.”
“Apart from the political factor, this T-shirt is very fashionable, so why not?” said Hang, who bought one for herself and another for her brother who lives in Canada.
Wallop Nutfaeng, the lead suspect in the attack on a Bangkok temple school, cries Tuesday as police raid his home.
BANGKOK — Multiple charges have now been brought against two dozen men accused of raiding a Bangkok school during university admission tests, police said Tuesday.
A total of 24 suspects, all male, have now been charged with six counts including trespassing, vandalism, assault, intimidation and consuming alcohol on temple grounds following Sunday’s attack on the Matthayom Wat Sing School, according to the Bang Khun Thian district police chief.
One suspect was charged with sexually harassing a minor, Col. Luesak Damnoensawas said. It followed complaints from a student who said one of the men kissed her cheek and verbally harassed her while she tried to break up a fight between them and her friend.
Investigators today raided the homes of 16 suspects for drugs and weapons but said they came up empty-handed.
Dozens of men stormed the campus Sunday afternoon and assaulted guards, students and teachers in classrooms after the school asked that an ordination ceremony at the temple be quiet as university admission tests were being administered to more than 300 students.
A teacher said he was assaulted by multiple men and sustained serious injuries to his arm after being hit by a chair and table. A student said he was struck in the head. The school’s director said some men charged into his office and punched him.
The ringleader was identified by police as Wallop Nutfaeng, 32, who apologized in tears to students, teachers and school security guards during a police raid on his house.
He said he wanted to talk to the school’s director and got angry when he couldn’t find him. He also admitted to being drunk.
Security footage shows the men walk through the school’s front gate, some holding liquor bottles, and start attacking the school guards attempting to stop them almost immediately. Wallop was seen leading the group.
Police said 20 men will be held at the Thon Buri Criminal Court, while the four minors would be sent to a local juvenile detention center. They said three more suspects would be called in for questioning.
The court on Tuesday afternoon denied bail for all suspects, saying they pose a threat to witnesses and could disrupt the investigation.
The attack drew outrage from the public. The police commissioner has promised swift prosecution of the assailants, while junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha joined the public to condemn the incident online and command that all perpetrators be “dealt with seriously and urgently.”
Education officials said affected students can retake the tests next week. The Education Minister said Monday that they were looking into whether they would sue the attackers for the cost of rescheduling the tests.
Na Saton Beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat as of Tuesday.
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT — The oil-slick waves lapping the gulf shores deposit dead fish, jellyfish and octopuses mixed with trash on the beach.
Hua Sai district residents around Na Saton Beach are pleading with local authorities to investigate the source of oil slicks ravaging theirs and other beaches across Surat Thani, Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces.
“The authorities came, but they just took photos and went back,” said Phitanee Yodsurang, the beach resident who first raised the alarm Wednesday. Phitanee had been exercising on the beach when he noticed oil patches being examined by concerned fishermen.
The oil at Na Saton Beach stretches at least two kilometers, with the beach covered in debris and trash deposited there since a powerful tropical storm struck in January.
“Dead fish, octopus and jellyfish keep washing up on the shore in waves. No one knows the source yet; it might be due to the oil. Then, when the sun hits the oil washed up on shore, it melts into the sand. No one knows how toxic that is,” Phitanee said.
Na Saton Beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat as of Tuesday.
A Khaosod reporter based in Nakhon Si Thammarat interviewed a petroleum engineer working at a nearby rig who said it was unreasonable to suggest an ocean liner or rig caused the spill, since they did not contain enough oil to affect several provinces.
The engineer said authorities should check the oil for its chemical fingerprint to identify the source.
On Monday, at the popular tourist destination of Samila Beach in Songkhla, local authorities brought in trucks to dump sand atop oil deposits there. Energy official Sutthichai Suksisen collected oil samples there and said they would be sent for testing, which would take about a month.
Sutthichai said oil slicks have appeared annually on southern beaches for decades. In 2016, tests found it did not seem to come from oil platforms in the Gulf of Thailand.
Hua Sai Beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Thursday.
An official collects oil samples Monday at Samila Beach in Songkhla province.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves Tuesday upon arrival by train in Dong Dang in Vietnamese border town. Photo: Minh Hoang / Associated Press
DONG DANG, Vietnam — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, grinning broadly and waving at a crowd gathered on a cold, rainy morning, stepped off his armored train Tuesday after a long ride that started in Pyongyang and wound through China to this Vietnamese border town ahead of his second nuclear summit with President Donald Trump.
Kim, dressed in his trademark dark Mao suit, shook hands with officials as Vietnamese troops in crisp, white uniforms and black boots stood at attention on a red carpet beneath large North Korean and Vietnamese flags at the Dong Dang railway station on the China-Vietnam border.
A crowd gathered along the road near the station to wave North Korean flags and bouquets of flowers as the North Korean leader stepped into a black limousine that was then surrounded by burly, crewcut bodyguards who ran alongside their leader as he left the station. Press reports speculate that Kim will be driven to Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, ahead of his Wednesday meeting with Trump, but officials shared no details about the specifics of a summit that the world will be watching closely.
Trump was flying to Hanoi from Washington. Kim’s arrival comes as Vietnamese officials scramble to finish preparations for a rushed summit that’s meant to deal with one of Asia’s biggest security challenges: North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear program that stands on the verge of viably threatening any target on the planet.
Although many experts are skeptical Kim will give up the nukes he likely sees as his best guarantee of continued rule, there was a palpable, carnival-like excitement among many in Hanoi as the final preparations were made for the meeting.
Officials in Hanoi said they only had about 10 days to prepare for the summit — much less than the nearly two months Singapore had before the first Trump-Kim meeting last year— but still vowed to provide airtight security for the two leaders.
“Security will be at the maximum level,” Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung told reporters.
The ultra-tight security will be appreciated by North Korean authorities, who are extremely vigilant about the safety of Kim, the third member of his family to rule the North with absolute power. Kim’s decision to take a train, not a plane, may have been influenced by the better ability to control security.
Vietnam is eager to show off its huge economic and development improvements since the destruction of the Vietnam War, but the country also tolerates no dissent and is able to provide the kind of firm hand not allowed by more democratic potential hosts.
Vietnam has announced an unprecedented traffic ban along a possible arrival route for Kim. The Communist Party’s Nhan Dan newspaper quoted the Roads Department as saying the ban will affect the 169-kilometer (105-mile) stretch of Highway One from Dong Dang, on the border with China, to Hanoi.
There are high expectations for the Hanoi summit after a vague declaration at the first meeting in June in Singapore that disappointed many.
In a meeting with senior aides in Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the Trump-Kim talks would be a critical opportunity to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Moon, who met Kim three times last year and has lobbied hard to revive nuclear diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea, is eager for a breakthrough that would allow him to push ambitious plans for inter-Korean engagement, including lucrative joint economic projects that are held back by U.S.-led sanctions against the North.
“If President Trump succeeds in dissolving the world’s last remaining Cold War rivalry, it will become yet another great feat that will be indelibly recorded in world history,” Moon said.
Trump, via Twitter, has worked to temper those expectations, predicting before leaving for Hanoi a “continuation of the progress” made in Singapore but adding a tantalizing nod to “Denuclearization?” He also said that Kim knows that “without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World.”
North Korea has spent decades, at great political and economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there is widespread skepticism among experts that it will give away that program cheaply.
BANGKOK — The long-awaited rail extension west through Chinatown and across the river will open to the public for a test run beginning in April, the transport minister announced Tuesday.
The new line, which runs both above and underground, will run from MRT Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae district in the western suburbs. Minister Pailin Chuchottaworn told reporters riding trains during the testing phase will be free, while full operation will start in September.
“Installation of the train system is now 71 percent completed,” Pailin said, adding that three trains will arrive to service the line in March. The number of trains will reach 35 by next year, the minister said.
Fourteen stations will serve the extension of the 15-year-old Blue Line. Unlike the cold, modern design of its existing stations, some of the new stops were designed by architects and artists to reflect traditional Thai architecture.
The line will stop at Wat Mangkon, Sam Yot, Sanam Chai, Itsaraphap, Tha Phra, Bang Phai, Bang Wa, Phet Kasem 48, Phasi Charoen and Bang Khae before terminating at Lak Song.
Commuters can change to the Tao Poon-bound elevated train line at MRT Tha Phra, though that route will not open till March 2020. MRT Bang Wa is also an interchange to the BTS skytrain system.
An even longer extension will link MRT Lak Song to the Thawi Wattana district, though construction won’t be finished until March 2020, at the most optimistic. The full Blue Line extension project will cost an estimated 80 billion baht.
