China may have less incentive to prioritise a Vietnamese HSR as the main line connecting China with Southeast Asia, even though initial plans for a regional railway network included Vietnam in the eastern route from Yunnan to Cambodia and Thailand. Although domestic opposition to the North-South HSR project has diminished over the last decade, part

HSRs is around US$21 million for a 350 km/h line and US$17 million for a 250 km/h line. Vietnam’s ability to keep the project on schedule and within budget is another significant concern. The country’s experience with metro projects in Hanoi and HCMC, where cost overruns totalled US$3.4 billion and almost doubled the initial estimates, highligh

1881 and 1936, with no significant expansion since.The outdated one-meter gauge, which still comprises over 80% of the network, is a relic that remains in use in only a few other countries Current train speeds are modest, with maximum speeds of 100km/h for passenger trains, and about 50-60km/h for freight trains. These are significantly lower than

barrels of oil in favour of arms for oil arrangement between the two countries However, the most serious U-turn was Russian support for the nuclearisation of North Korea; this stands in stark contrast to Russia’s traditional position. In a briefing, Sergey Lavrov said that for Russia, ‘the very term of ‘denuclearisation’ as applied to North

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s remarks on the presence of North Korean troops in its temporarily occupied territories have caught international attention, raising concerns about the state of deepening ties between Russia and North Korea Following the announcement, the South Korean President called for an urgent national security meetin