Trump-Kim handshake, optimism to kick off nuclear summit

US President Donald Trump shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of their second summit Wednesday and predicted successful talks with the totalitarian state over its nuclear weapons.

Trump foresaw a "very successful" summit as the pair greeted each other at the luxury Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi to follow up on their initial historic meeting in Singapore in June.

Shaking hands and smiling in front of a bank of a dozen alternating US and North Korean flags, they briefly took questions from reporters before starting one-on-one talks and a dinner.

Critics said the Singapore summit was light on concrete results but Trump said the Hanoi talks would be "equal or better than the first" time. Kim said: "I am certain that a great outcome will be achieved this time that will be welcomed by all people."