Vietnam requests UN permission for North Korean delegation’s visit

© EPA-EFE/KEVIN LIM/THE STRAITS TIMES

UN, Feb 13, 2019, TASS. Vietnam has requested a UN committee overseeing international sanctions against North Korea to permit a visit to its capital Hanoi by a North Korean delegation, which may include blacklisted officials, a UN source told TASS on Tuesday.

“Vietnam requested the [1718] Committee for exemptions from the sanctions regime in order to hold the US-North Korean summit on February 27-28,” the source said. “The request is to be considered by February 19.”

According to the diplomat, the permission was requested for all members of the North Korean delegation, including those whose names had been put on the international organization’s sanctions lists.

A similar permission was requested and received by Singapore, which hosted the first US-North Korean summit, and by South Korea, which invited a delegation from Pyongyang to visit the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang.

US President Donald Trump announced on February 9 that his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would take place in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi on February 27-28. The decision was made following the meeting between US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and North Korean Special Representative for US Affairs Kim Hyok Chol in Pyongyang.

The first summit between Trump and Kim was held on 12 June 2018 in Singapore. The heads of state adopted a joint statement, in which Pyongyang confirmed its principled readiness to carry out full denuclearization, while the US agreed to provide security guarantess to North Korea. However, the sides discussed no concrete timeframe, saying that it should be determined during future negotiations.

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