What Kim Jong Un stands to gain by meeting President Trump - CBS News

 March 9, 2018, 7:09 AM
What Kim Jong Un stands to gain by meeting President Trump

In a jaw-dropping announcement Thursday night, South Korea's national security adviser said President Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and that the North is "committed" to denuclearization. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the planned meeting though a time and place have yet to be decided.

South Korea's foreign minister says his president, Moon Jae-in, is confident the talks could lead to the denuclearization of North Korea. Moon, who has previously called for diplomacy between the North and the U.S., declared the planned summit a "historical milestone."

As CBS News' Holly Williams reports, the current administration in South Korea wants engagement with North Korea, but many others in the country say the North shouldn't be trusted, will never give up its nuclear weapons, and only understands threats.

On the face of it, it seems North Korea has made some concessions, agreeing to talk about denuclearization and saying it'll freeze missile and nuclear tests. But that's reversible, and if the talks do happen, the reward for North Korea is huge. Meeting with the American president would give dictator Kim Jong Un legitimacy in the eyes of the world, and that's something the North Korean regime craves.

North Korea has reneged on previous deals, all while continuing to develop its nuclear weapons. The big question in Asia now, is how serious China really is about forcing North Korea to denuclearize. It's long been the North's biggest trading partner and an economic lifeline for the regime.