North Korea experts' advice to Trump: Keep summit as simple as possible
As the off-again, on-again summit with North Korea is shaping up for June 12 once again, experts say that President Trump should keep it simple as he prepares to finally meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Jung Pak of the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies and Ambassador Robert Gallucci, America's chief negotiator during the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, sat down with "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan to offer their views on what the U.S. should expect heading into the meeting.
"I think the president needs to work out along with his team what he should say, what he should not say and what some of the benefits he can offer for Kim," said Pak.
Gallucci agreed, saying foreign policy experts hope that some of Mr. Trump's talking points are "pre-baked" and make sense going into the meeting. "Both people in this meeting are infamous or famous for improvisational -- their surprise factor," he noted. Gallucci added that it would be good for the U.S. delegation to have agreed on "follow-on steps" for what will be implemented in order to reach a deal on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
"How much detail can we get on the term denuclearization? What does it meant for North Korea? How do we monitor the giving up and turning over of this material?" Gallucci suggested as potential guidelines for the talks. Mr. Trump still appears committed to complete and total denuclearization, but has hinted it may take longer than just one meeting with Kim to deliver, calling the talks a start of a "process."
Pak meanwhile said that Mr. Trump should be aware that Kim is "doing his homework by all accounts," including reading up on world events. Both experts agreed that the U.S. should in the meantime avoid "shiny objects" like a promise to formally end the Korean War and instead focus on the substance of the talks.
