Vietnam deports Trump’s lookalike ahead of summit

An Australian comedian who impersonates North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Monday authorities were deporting him from Vietnam, some 24 hours before the real Kim was due to arrive for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Kim lookalike, who goes by the name Howard X, popped up in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi on Friday along with his partner who impersonates Trump, drawing crowds and media.

Howard X says officials have since told him his visa is "invalid", but says he has received no further explanation.

“North Koreans have no sense of humor,” the impersonator told reporters before heading to Hanoi’s airport to leave the country.

“Satire is a powerful weapon against any dictatorship.”

The impersonator visited Singapore in June when Trump and Kim held their first summit and performed satirical stunts. He said he was briefly detained by authorities there.

He was also escorted away by security at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea after dancing in front of North Korea's cheerleading squad.

Vietnamese foreign ministry officials were not immediately available for comment on Monday. Howard X said earlier authorities had questioned him and warned him not to create any disturbance.

Vietnam has tightened security around the capital ahead of the summit.

Howard X said his partner, Trump impersonator Russell White, was allowed to stay on in Vietnam, but not allowed to do make any more public appearances.

The two hugged and kissed goodbye for the cameras on Monday.

“Please no World War Three,” Howard X said.

“They are scared of a couple of guys that look like a real thing.”

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are due to meet in Hanoi on 27-28 February for talks expected to focus on persuading the one-party Communist state to give up its nuclear weapons programme.

Their first summit in Singapore last June generated significant coverage and optimism but delivered very few concrete developments.

Both sides said they were committed to denuclearisation, but gave no details of how this would be carried out or verified.