Vietnam’s Communist Party Chief To Lam Expected to Visit North Korea in October

Image: General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tô Lâm at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on July 30, 2024. By © European Union, 2025, CC BY 4.0, (Wikipedia)

By Liam Scott | Staff Writer with Agencies

HANOI — Vietnam’s top leader, Communist Party chief To Lam, is expected to make a rare visit to North Korea in October, two Vietnamese officials told reporters, marking the first trip by a Vietnamese leader to Pyongyang in nearly two decades.

The visit has not yet been officially announced, and both Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the North Korean embassy in Hanoi declined to comment. Preparations are said to be underway, and one official indicated that Lam is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

First Visit in Nearly 20 Years

If confirmed, the trip would be the first by a Vietnamese leader since 2007, when then-Party chief Nong Duc Manh visited Pyongyang. Before that, the last high-level visit was made by Vietnam’s founding president, Ho Chi Min, in 1957.

Despite maintaining close diplomatic ties, Vietnam and North Korea currently have no active trade relations, according to the Vietnamese embassy in Pyongyang. The last available trade data, from 2016, showed Vietnam exported nearly US$3 million worth of goods to North Korea.

Context of Bilateral Relations

The potential visit comes as Hanoi and Pyongyang mark 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2025. While high-level exchanges have been rare, lower-ranking officials have met periodically, with dialogue resuming last year after a five-year pause.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un himself made a rare foreign trip to Hanoi in 2019, where he attended a high-profile summit with then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Strategic Timing

The anticipated October trip would follow To Lam’s August state visit to South Korea, North Korea’s rival. Lam was the first foreign leader to be hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung after his inauguration in June.

Vietnam is heavily reliant on South Korean investment, with companies such as Samsung Electronics playing a central role in its economy. South Korea’s investment in Vietnam is estimated at over US$90 billion, much of it concentrated in manufacturing and technology.

North Korea, by contrast, remains under stringent international sanctions tied to its nuclear weapons program, severely limiting its trade and investment opportunities.

Outlook

Analysts say the visit could serve as both a symbolic reaffirmation of historic ties and an opportunity for Pyongyang to strengthen its limited network of international partners. For Hanoi, the trip underscores its careful balancing act in foreign policy, maintaining relations with both Koreas while deepening its global economic integration.