Kim Jong-un, top leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), arrived in Hanoi by car on Tuesday on the eve of his summit with US President Donald Trump.

A bulletproof Mercedes S600 Pullman Guard carrying Kim arrived at the five-star Melia Hotel in downtown Hanoi after a two-hour, 170-kilometer road trip from a train station near Vietnam's border with China. Kim reached the station earlier following a 66-hour, 4,500 km train journey from Pyongyang.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang confirmed on Tuesday that China has provided traffic support for DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un's trip to Vietnam.

Security has been tightened to maximum level around the hotel, with police and armored guards deployed close to it. A number of residents and reporters are staking out the hotel.

Kim has become the first leader from the DPRK to visit Vietnam in 55 years since the trip by his grandfather Kim Il-sung.

Kim is also paying an "official goodwill visit" to Vietnam to strengthen Pyongyang-Hanoi ties, with meetings with top Vietnamese leaders planned.