Trump to extend Asian tour by a day

Washington, Nov 3 (IANS)  US President Donald Trump said on Friday before leaving Washington for a five-nation Asian tour that he would extend his itinerary by one day to attend a second summit in the Philippines on November 14.

Trump, who will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, had initially planned to return to Washington from Manila on November 14.

But he told reporters before boarding Air Force One that he would stay an additional day to participate in the East Asia Summit, an annual gathering of leaders from the East Asian region and adjoining countries.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later confirmed that change in plans.

"We're going to have a very successful trip ... We'll be talking about trade. We'll be talking about obviously North Korea," Trump said, reports Efe.

Trump will make a stopover Friday in Hawaii to visit Joint Base Pearl Harbor/Hickam and then travel Saturday to Japan, where his official agenda will start Sunday with meetings and a round of golf with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The North Korean nuclear threat will dominate Trump's meetings in Japan and the next two stages of his tour, South Korea and China, where he will have a highly anticipated sit-down with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The remainder of the tour will be more focused on economic issues, with Trump scheduled to take part in an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, and then in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the East Asia Summit in the Philippines.

Trump's first trip to Asia will be the longest international tour by a US head of state since the one then-President George H.W. Bush's embarked on in 1992.

Bush became ill at the end of that trip, famously vomiting on the Japanese prime minister's lap at a formal dinner before fainting.