White House media staff forced to vacate hotel

SEOUL • US President Donald Trump's media headquarters for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was forced to abruptly move from a Hanoi hotel yesterday, just hours before the North Korean leader arrived.

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a tweet that the White House media centre would move from the Melia Hanoi hotel downtown to the location of the international media centre a few blocks away.

The Melia had informed guests on Monday that they would have to endure heightened security "due to the visit of a head of state staying at our hotel", without naming the person.

BLOOMBERG

Half of North's defectors suffered violence: Poll

SEOUL • About half of 451 North Korean defectors questioned in a survey endured physical violence at the hands of the North Korean authorities, a rights group said yesterday, as leader Kim Jong Un prepared to meet US President Donald Trump for a summit.

A survey conducted between 2015 and last year and released by the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group found that about 48 per cent said they personally experienced violence perpetrated by the North Korean authorities, including beating, torture, rape and other sexual assault.

REUTERS

Travel company offers Hanoi summit tour

HANOI • The "Trump-Kim Vietnam Summit Tour" is being put on this week by travel company Young Pioneer Tours, whose slogan offers "destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from".

While the trip to the Vietnamese capital is not a daring one, it offers visitors a chance to be part of the flurry surrounding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump's meeting. Stops include the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the former "Hanoi Hilton" jail, where American prisoners of war were held. Also included are summit-specific sites such as the Melia Hanoi hotel, where Mr Kim will stay.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE