A motorcyclist waves American and North Korean flags on a street in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
A motorcyclist waves American and North Korean flags on a street in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
T-shirts for sale this week in Hanoi, Vietnam, advertise the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
From T-shirts to flags, souvenirs capitalize on the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
T-shirts for sale this week in Hanoi, Vietnam, advertise the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
Workers paint a building near the summit press center in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
North Korean, Vietnamese and American flags are strung along the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, to celebrate the U.S.-North Korea summit. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum towers above a vast square in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
A woman sweeps the grounds near the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
Motorists drive by a sign advertising the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (Kim Gamel/Stars and Stripes)
HANOI, Vietnam — Streets of were teeming with activity this week as the Vietnamese capital prepared to host the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Flags from all three countries were strung along the streets and storekeepers hawked summit souvenirs that included T-shirts emblazoned with photos of the two leaders.
Trump has touted Vietnam as a model that North Korea could emulate as it’s a communist country that has achieved economic prosperity and normal ties with the United States after emerging from the devastation of two decades of war, which ended in 1975.
gamel.kim@stripes.com Twitter: @kimgamel
