President Trump: 'We'll See What Happens' on North & South Korea Nuke Talks
President Donald Trump declined to say whether he would establish preconditions for nuclear talks with North Korea, but added that "we can't let that situation fester."
"We'll see what happens," Trump told reporters Tuesday before meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a session devoted mainly to trade and tariffs.
"They seem to be acting positively, but we're going to see," Trump said of North Korea's leaders.
"I think that their statement, and the statements coming out of South Korea and North Korea have been very positive," the president said. "That would be a great thing for the world, a great thing for the world. So we'll see how it all comes about."
Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 6, 2018
The news comes after a meeting between North and South Korean leaders in which the North's dictator, Kim Jong Un, reportedly said his country is prepared to give up its nuclear weapons program and hold talks with the United States in return for security guarantees.
The claim was made by South Korean envoys returning home after a two-day trip to the North that included dinner with Kim himself — the first time he has met officials from Seoul since he succeeded his father as leader of North Korea in 2011.
"The North side clearly affirmed its commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and said it would have no reason to possess nuclear weapons should the safety of its regime be guaranteed and military threats against North Korea removed," Chung Eui-yong, the top security adviser for South Korea's president, said according to the South's Yonhap news agency.
He added that Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in would meet face-to-face at the end of April in the joint security area of Panmunjom.
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense retired Lt. Gen. Wallace 'Chip' Gregson tells CBN News Kim is taking a divide and conquer approach.
"We need to pay attention to this because in my opinion, the biggest danger North Korea presents is the ability to damage our alliances in Asia and damage our ability to remain an Asian power," Gregson warned.
Gregson adds while Kim skillfully portrayed the North as a friendly neighbor during the Olympics, he can not be trusted.
"Part of our response has to be we strengthen our alliances and we do not allow North Korea to drive a wedge between us," said Gregson.
Others, like David Adesnik, director of research with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warn South Korea must keep its guard up.
"Talking by itself is not so dangerous," he said. "But it often lures you into doing other things that are very bad ideas, whether down playing threats that you should be focused on or getting so committed to the process, so desperate to reach some sort of agreement that you start to pay off the other side to keep them at the table."
Top brass at the Pentagon told CBN News the US welcomes the talks but remains cautiously optimistic.
But make no mistake, these talks represent a new chapter in the ongoing saga between the the United States and the North.
