Vietnam’s Communist Party chief and top leader To Lam will travel to North Korea this week, marking the first visit by a Vietnamese head of state to the reclusive nation in nearly two decades, officials from both countries announced on Monday.
Lam’s three-day visit, beginning October 9, comes at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and coincides with Pyongyang’s planned military parade on October 10 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party.
According to Vietnam’s government, the delegation will include Defence Minister Phan Van Giang and other senior officials. The visit underscores a symbolic reaffirmation of the historical ties between the two communist states, which this year celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations.
Despite their ideological similarities, Vietnam and North Korea currently have no formal trade relations, according to the Vietnamese embassy in Pyongyang. Diplomatic exchanges had slowed in recent years but resumed in 2023 after a five-year hiatus.
The last Vietnamese leader to visit North Korea was Nong Duc Manh in 2007, who followed in the footsteps of the late President Ho Chi Minh, the first Vietnamese party chief to visit Pyongyang in 1957.
In 2019, Kim Jong Un made a rare overseas trip to Hanoi for a summit with then-U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling Vietnam’s role as a diplomatic bridge between North Korea and the international community.
Lam’s visit follows his August trip to South Korea, where he became the first foreign leader hosted by President Lee Jae Myung since Lee took office in June.
The trip is seen as part of Hanoi’s broader diplomatic outreach across the Korean Peninsula at a time of renewed geopolitical activity in East Asia.
South Korea is preparing to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month in Gyeongju, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet on the sidelines, highlighting the region’s intensifying diplomatic engagements.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
