Trump says he has ‘very special relationship’ with Kim

President Trump said Wednesday he has a “very special relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the two sat down for dinner on the first night of their summit in Vietnam.

“We’re going to have a very busy day tomorrow, and we’ll probably have a pretty quick dinner, and a lot of things are going be to solved I hope, and I think it’ll lead to really a wonderful situation long term,” Trump said. “And our relationship is a very special relationship.”

The comment was the latest from Trump appearing cozy with the North Korean leader, who has been accused of grave human rights violations.

Trump and Kim were dining at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, after a roughly 20-minute one-on-one meeting to start their second summit.

The White House has described the dinner as a “social” one. Trump was joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, while Kim was joined by lead negotiator Kim Yong Chol and foreign minister Ri Yong Ho.

Kim said he and Trump exchanged “very interesting dialogue” in their one-on-one meeting, according to a translator.

“Boy if you could have heard that dialogue, what you would pay for that dialogue,” Trump added.

Trump appeared jovial at the top of the dinner, gesturing to reporters in the room and joking that there’s “nothing like having a nice private dinner” and asking if “everybody [is] having a good time.”

The dinner was the last event scheduled for Wednesday. The two leaders are expected to hold more substantive talks Thursday.