Cohen testimony casts shadow on Trump-Kim talks in Hanoi

The political drama on Capitol Hill was in President Trump’s thoughts as he arrived in Vietnam for meetings with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

Michael Cohen, the president tweeted, was “lying in order to reduce his prison time!”

Mr. Trump then had a one-on-one exchange with Mr. Kim in downtown Hanoi before sitting down for dinner with top aides from both sides. Formal talks between the two sides take place today, with Mr. Cohen’s excoriating characterizations of Mr. Trump echoing from the other side of the world.

One goal: For decades, the U.S. has been monitoring a remote site in North Korea called Yongbyon, where it is believed the country produces nuclear fuel. If Mr. Trump can stop fuel production there, he would effectively have “frozen” the North’s nuclear program. If not, North Korea could keep up its weapons program while talks drag on.

Media: Four American journalists were barred from covering Mr. Trump’s dinner with Mr. Kim after two of them called out questions in an earlier appearance of the two leaders — a highly unusual retaliatory move at a closely watched foreign event.

Go deeper: Thae Yong-ho, a member of North Korea’s political elite who in 2016 became the highest-ranking diplomat to defect in years, said in an interview with our Beijing bureau chief that Mr. Kim has no intention of giving up his weapons and is just buying time.