Vietnam briefly detains Trump and Kim impersonators

Vietnamese authorities were not amused by the antics of two impersonators of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

The duo has been wandering the streets of Hanoi, posing for pictures with curious onlookers ahead of the second summit of the two leaders next week.

However Howard X, an Australian-Chinese impersonator  who has been cashing on his resemblance to the North Korean leader, posted on Facebook that about 15 police or immigration officers demanded a mandatory “interview” with him and his Trump-lookalike partner, Russell White, following a talk they gave at the state-run VTC station.

Donald Trump impersonator Russell White and Kim Jong Un impersonator Howard X pose for photos outside the Opera House in Hanoi [Minh Hoang/ AP Photo]

“They then said that this was a very sensitive time in the city due to the Trump/Kim summit and that our impersonation was causing a ‘disturbance’ and … suggested that we do not do the impersonation in public for the duration of our stay as these presidents have many enemies and that it was for our own safety,” he wrote.

According to Howard X, there was a back-and-forth with an unnamed Vietnamese officer who “did not seem pleased with my answer” and threatened the impersonators with deportation, saying they were breaking immigration rules.

Finally, he said they were driven back to their hotel and told to stay put until authorities decide how to treat them.

“Although I am not surprised that I got detained for doing my impersonation in Vietnam, it’s still pretty annoying,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

According to a Facebook note posted by Howard X, Vietnamese authorities threatened the impersonators with deportation [Jorge Silva/ Reuters]

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 North Korea‘s denuclearisation.

The two leaders previously met in Singapore last June, but the first Kim-Trump summit produced few concrete developments.