The AFP article wrote that when Lee Parry heard that DPRK leaderKim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump would meet in Hanoi, he knew hewanted to be part of the action and soon booked a trip.
He joined the 'Trump-Kim Vietnam Summit Tour' being put on this week by atravel company whose slogan offers "destinations your mother would ratheryou stayed away from" – including the DPRK.
The trip to the Vietnamese capital is not exactly a daring one, buta chance for visitors to be part of the flurry surrounding Trump and Kim'ssecond meeting this week.
"It's a lot better than seeing it on Twitter orFacebook," said Parry, 36, a British student living in China. “To be atthe forefront of that and to get to see it in the flesh was too good to passup."
On the agenda are several well-trodden stops on the Hanoi touristtrail: The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, the war museum and the former "HanoiHilton" jail where American prisoners of war including late senator JohnMcCain were held during the war in Vietnam.
In addition, there are some summit-related sites such as Melia HanoiHotel, where Kim is expected to stay.
The AFP also quoted Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) Director Gareth Johnson as sayingthat if the meeting ends up being successful, if it ends up being a goodsummit, we will witness history in the making.
Hanoi had only 10 days to prepare for the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit Vietnam, ascompared to 2 months for the first meeting in Singapore, but local authoritiesvowed the best security conditions for the important event.
The capital's streets were lined with armed soldiers and military vehicles --highly unusual for a foreign leader's visit to Vietnam.
The city has been swarming with press in recent days with some2,600 journalists registered to cover the summit slated for February 27-28.
The summit is expected to focus on discussing Pyongyang’s concrete denuclearisationsteps and corresponding measures the DPRK wants the US to take such asloosening sanctions and improving relations.-VNA