we've got the perfect person to show us what is actually going on inside the american standoff with north korea and crucially how the north was able to get as far as they did with their nuclear ambitions. some of what you're about to see is going to surprise you. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel spent his career reporting on intrigue around the world and tonight he's got something. he's reporting from south korea. here now is "on assignment" with richard engel. ♪ >>> welcome, it's saturday morning in seoul, south korea. i spent a lot of time covering conflicts but one thing i didn't expect to be reporting on is the possibility, remote possibility of a nuclear conflict but here i am and that's what we're doing, talking about rising tensions with a nuclear armed north korea. now, north korea is a small, poor, isolated country with very limited resources, but in my hotel room the other day, i watched vladimir putin, the president of the world's second largest nuclear power make a presentation that included a slide showing a nuclear strike on florida. experts say he may well be bluff

translations is from north korea. the south and the north should not harm or interfere with each other, but should prosper together in peace, whether living together or separately. this may mean, number one, in a vacation is not a priority -- unification is not a priority. the president of south korea should pursue it peaceful denuclearization with north korea. for religion,es but i don't think moon has discussed -- he has two thirds of the military and his national it, so he to pass would need the approval of the national assembly and would not be able to put the amendment in the form of a referendum to local elections. coming back to his statement, a onecond -- he may seek state with two systems making a vast difference, and he has implications on a lot of comments we heard this afternoon. coexistence isd the greatest good that the two koreas should seek now. criticism of president trump said the decision to meet with kim jong-un were based on two grounds. the regard of normal process and risk of his policy decision.

we'll have the story of a brave young woman that escaped from north korea when she was just 13. first, we have a story that shows how these two threats from russia and forth korea are connected. we got our hands on a partial copy of a report due to be released by the u.n. later this month. it was prepared by a team of experts who monitor north korea to see if it's compiling with the sanctions. you won't be surprised to hear that the short answer is no. the full report is more than 200 pages long and details a whole lit kn list of allegations they are helping the syrian government's missile and selling missiles to the military in myanmar and involve in dirty business. the north koreans smuggled out nearly $200 million worth of goods in nine months last year. this money is helping immensely to keep the regime in power and its weapons program going. the report specifically mentions several cases where coal was smuggled out of north korea through russia. that got our attention because we've been investigating elicit trade from north korea for awhile. we just got back from a reporting

sanctions against north korea could be lifted before the meeting, for example? meeting. we have not seen any confirmation by the north korean side as of yet but right now, with the agreement made in pyongyang, there was a piece that was reported that there was a secret message from kim jong—un that there was a secret message from kimjong—un kim that there was a secret message from kim jong—un kim two that there was a secret message from kimjong—un kim two president trump. we are going to be piecing together the news reports and other revelations coming out from various meetings but at this stage, to create this kind of momentum, there are question marks about whether we will get to denuclearisation. this isa will get to denuclearisation. this is a commitment and it is a very long process and unlikely to get done by may as well. what are the proxies? what are the equivalent measures? all these things will need to be worked out. a lot of developments coming out from the white house. earlier we mentioned that president donald trump has formally excepted an invitati

and kim's visit made it possible for china to know what north korea will be talking about to south korea and the united states in these discussions on the nuclearization china has also learned what north korea's demands will be which will help china. india it's a visit the would have seemed unimaginable just a few months ago where north korea was ignoring chinese appeals for restraint at an exhibition showcasing some of china's technological achievements the message appeared to be we can help you with all of this if you behave china's leaders are fond of metaphors that are lavish banquet she told his guest that in the beautiful season of spring everything comes to life kim replied i believe our meeting will yield abundant fruit that could mean making good on his commitment to give up nuclear weapons the fruits of spring were apparent in the garden of the state guesthouse where friendship also seemed to blossom she accepted an invitation to visit north korea and told him he was welcome to visit china again the visitors left happy adrian brown al-jazeera beijing. well china and north korea

the north korean have all was wanted a us president to visit north korea. ave tried since the clinton administration. there is also a movie which ends with a president, president making a visit. it is interesting that people call this a breakthrough. the north korean have been asking for 25 years and it is a huge propaganda scoop for them. you could see it as an american president compelled by north korea's missile and nuclear programme to treat north korea as an equal? that is exactly how that north korean movie ends. i am a strong supporter of engaging dramatically with the north korea but this is the highest value concession that the us has to make set to play it at the beginning with no concrete promises of anything, as an explorer treat mission, it is an orthodox, i will say that. what are the risks and possible rewards? well, the possible reward is that i do not think north korea will give up do not think north korea will give up its nuclear weapons but perhaps it was a fundamentally different relationship with the united states and perhaps president t

as well as north korea, something that is very rare. envoy's it was not just south korea or the u.s., it was everyone together in international solidarity. the commitment to denuclearization unprecedented. meet the u.s. president, the first time ever for a sitting u.s. president, is remarkable. the commitment to the diplomatic process is something. branch,ere is an olive rok andy is saying the partners. from the team on national security, joins us from washington. tell us the significance of this development today. >> i think you hit on it right off the top. this would be the first-ever meeting between a north korean leader and a sitting u.s. president. in the past when u.s. envoys have gone to north korea, whether to help get prisoners out or try to broker talks, they have almost always been former officials. oneleine albright went debt point. bill clinton went to north korea after he had left office. this would be unprecedented. there is a lot that remains to be seen about whether this will hold until may. the u.s. and south korea are

bombing devastated the north people there have not forgotten while relations between the two koreas have been mainly tens there have also been episodes of engagement and determined. in two thousand south korean president kim dae joel visited pyongyang to meet north korean leader kim jong il the father of kim jong un . kim de jong received the nobel peace prize for his efforts to promote peace and reconciliation. an architect of his sunshine policy of reconciliation was join me and moon there was a time when north korea and the united states even talked to each other was that possible very simple ok when i would there was a train the circumstances unites to the united states listen to what north koreans would say ok and they didn't deny north korea they treat north korea is a normal count and leadership commitment was another important that and he was a very effective in the communication channels. says things might not be so bad now if the current us administration were willing to negotiate instead the us president derides and threatens kim jong on. rocket man is on a suicide mission for

being tough on north korea. as prime minister he claims it poses the biggest threat to japan since world war two. the past of this nation is investing in missile defense systems increasing sanctions and pushing a tough diplomatic line against the regime. sees clearly that now is the kind for us to show a consolidated front against north korea. if there is any small spot for misunderstanding misinterpretation that's going to be kind to mount for you to showing weakness weakness in by its publication. professor thomas. is the prime minister's foreign affairs advisor the shia. and pace with which north korea has come out very much along the way to build its nuclear arsenal and missile technology have been a surprise for every one of us including the japanese chinese and the americans unlike other nuclear powers they say that they are willing to use the weapon and i think that a lot of people. it's put the country on high alert since last year. to prepare for a potential attack. in the past. in public buildings this

open to talking with the united states regarding the nuclearization and normalizing ties between north korea and the united states later on how this week with the north for the denuclearization of the korean peninsula or not comes here at the same time we should focus all our efforts to quickly effectively create defenses against north korea's nuclear and missile programs. also coming up from the plague of ebola to the plague of corruption voters in sierra leone on the eve of a national election. these so-called others we've never seen they've created a plastic cliff to chris see where the leak is using everybody seen every concert. oh we begin the day with north korea's shocking yes to possibly no nukes after rare talks between north and south korean officials the north has sent a message for the united states we are willing to meet and discuss denuclearization in exchange for security guarantees that north korea is also reportedly offering to put on hold all nuclear weapons tests during those talks a stunning turn of events u.s. president donald trump has reacted with guarded optimism but

so north korea indeed does have a strong position. i will agree with that. and where it is strong is that it is separated out talks with south korea as a separate issue. so i'm not sure there is new news. he didn't really say anything new yesterday. there will probably be talks but this is the exact same position in both sides of laying them out, north korea will not give up the nuclear weapons and united states wants north korea to give up its nuclear weapons. >> do you want to follow up on why you believe the u.s. position is weaker. >> i completely disagree with my friend, the reason why we're in this weak position is because the way -- the only real leverage that the united states has for pressuring north korea is getting china to do more and because the united states is in such a weak position and the united states is antagonizing our allies and friends by stepping away from tpp and telling japan and south korea in many ways that they are -- that they are on their own, by doing all of the things that are having all of our allies and friends really worrie

we know it has put a tremendous amount of pressure on north korea. they have made some major promises. they have made promises to denuclearize. they recognize that regular military exercises between the u.s. and its allies in south korea will continue. the maximum pressure campaign, we are not letting up. the maximum pressure campaign, we are not letting up. you're not going to step back and make any changes in that. we are to have this meeting take place until he see concrete action that match the rhetoric of north korea. -- cankim jong-un been kim jong-un be trusted as a negotiating partner? >> based on them following through with concrete actions on the promises they have made. >> lindsey graham said about this news, he said word of warning to north korean president kim jong-un, the worst possible thing you can do with donald trump in person it to meet in person and try to play cam. -- try to play him. think lindseyi graham knows president trip is one of the best negotiators and he has great confidence in his ability and is glad he will be the one

for most of them it's the first and only time i don't visit north korea. myself and other people here we own cars we go for holidays. it's unrealistic for us to have these sorts of lifestyles to go back to north korea not. bent over the day we go back to the motherland will be when really it's unified holcombe got a prosperous new and free. i go on into a job. amazing up with fifteen year old beyond song to hear what the students think . it's lunch time and they can take is a hard knock to do you know when you're trying to get a feeling like the new kid at school i try to get to north beyond some crazy jeff garcia voice the way she did her good pay for good. i was expecting was going to be very great very regimented i'm surprised at how i rule things go along a lot but i don't know about yes many strict rules you know going to the bottom of but among my friends we chat with discuss his uncle thing and we're having a great time. songs grandparents migrated here during the korean war he's parents are divorced and he lives with his mother and brother when you

strategy with north korea.is bloomberg. ♪ david: this is "bloomberg markets: balance of power." shery: u.s. stocks are mixed at the moment. industrials and materials leading the declines. there are gains and losses. energy and consumer stocks are rising. there was a pretty solid treasury auction. a 30-your debts, 13 billion dollars is being sold tomorrow. david: let's go to the bloomberg first word news. wilburident trump says ross will speak to european officials about tariffs on its goods. officials have not said if the tariffs are not fair to american farmers and manufacturers. muelleriller is at -- is at a crossroads. his investigation into whether president trump obstructed justice is a most finish, but he may put that aside to finish other parts of the probe. reveals other parts of the case, there is worried the investigation down. the bank for international settlements, household farming is seen as a danger in china. it may be at risk for an international crisis. jong-un is hoping to sign a peace treaty

kim pledged that north korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. ands that the routine joint military exercises between the republic of korea and the united states must continue. and he expressed his eagerness to meet president trump as soon as possible. president trump appreciated the briefing and said he would meet kim jong—un by may, to achieve permanent denuclearisation. the republic of korea along with the united states, japan and our many partners around the world remain fully and resolutely committed to the complete denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. along with president trump, we are optimistic about continuing a diplomatic process to test the possibility of a peaceful resolution. the republic of korea, the united states, and our partners, stand together in insisting that we not repeat the mistakes of the past and that the pressure will continue until north korea matches its words with concrete actions. thank you. that announcement made by south korean diplomats more than one hour ago at the white house lawn in washington, dc. for mor

you've been special adviser on north korea.ou've been with madeleine albright as secretary of state in that last time, you know, just before the clinton administration ended, to try to push forward these deals that would make the whole peninsula, the united states and everyone safer. what is it like negotiating with them. what do they really want? what is their mind-set in we ask because we don't really know what goes on inside the hermit kingdom. >> it's hard to fathom from time to time. but i do believe that kim jong-un is a rational actor within his paradigm. i do believe that he's not in any rush to denuclearize even though he may say, okay, we can talk about that. but let's see how we go from here to there. i think his objectives are several. one, he is in the driver's seat at the moment. he has been able to get the president of the united states, the most powerful leader in the world to sit in the same room with him as if he's an equal. so he's already achieved a major objective from his perspective. he ultimately wants t

no sitting american president has ever met with a leader of north korea. n pyongyang has agreed to stop missile testing for as long as talks continue, and to talk about denuclearisation. a south korean delegation met the leader of the north, earlier this week — this was their statement, from the white house, in the past few hours. i told president trump that in our meeting, of both korean leaders, kim jong—un said he is committed to denuclearisation. kim pledged that north korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. he understands that the routine joint military exercises between the republic of korea and the united states must continue. and he expressed his eagerness to meet president trump as soon as possible. president trump appreciated the briefing and said he would meet kim jong—un by may, to achieve permanent denuclearization. in south korea, they are used to being not too optimistic. our correspondent in seoul, laura bicker, described how these unprecedented developments have been received by south korea. cautiously but there is an

a major announcement about north korea. uth korea's national security advisor will address the reporters outside the white house. sources tell fox news this will include an invitation from kim jong-un to meet with president trump. it will also cover an upcoming meeting between the south korean president and kim jong-un. the other big news. the president defying opposition from his own party, siding with the hard working men and women of america. the president make his tariffs official. a 25% tariff on steel and 10% for aluminum with an exemption for canada and mexico while the white house renegotiates nafta. president trump: we have to protect our steel and aluminum industries while showing cooperation towards those who are really friends of ours. trish: new tariffs take effect in 15 days. joining me, ed rollins. now a senior presidential fellow at hofstra university and fox business political analyst. i want to start with this news that kim jong-un would like to sit down with president trump. ed: i take it as a very positiv

now moving to the next diplomatic step along the line which is talks between north korea and south korea. talks between the two leaders of north and south korea and then, maybe, a history-making event. the very first meeting of a u.s. president and a north korean leader since the korean war. i mean, that would be extraordinary. >> sandra: this announcement, john, is coming after hours of meetings today happening in that white house, just a reminder to everybody tuning in right now, we are expecting the south korean national security advisor to walk out to those microphones, as you just detailed, john, outside of the west wing poritco to make a major announcement and the pentagon, according to our reporting, has said this is going to include an invitation from kim jong un to meet with the president trump. do we know anything else more, john, about who will accompany him to that microphone to make this announcement? >> you know,er has a staff, clearly. and on the on the same way that h.r. mcmaster has a staff it will be the national security advisor who has been briefing h.r. mcmaster and

there is an area in south korea and the north korean border where they could meet, which is actually where kim jong un is going to meet with moon, president of south korea. peace house or maybe they could meet somewhere else. all of that something decide. what's really interesting about all of this, sean, is the fact that the presidentt was so widely criticized for taking the approach that he was taking toward north korea and all of the rhetoric that was flying around calling kim jong ung little rocket man saying "my nuclear button is bigger than yours." kim jong un responded by calling the president a fat dotard.g never thought that was going to go anywhere except lead to nuclear war, which a lot of experts did. now we sit onn the verge of talks between the president and kim jong un. i remember back in november when we were in vietnam with president trump, i wase sitting in my seat at a press conference at the presidential palace in hanoihe when my phone rang. it was the president who was on the phone. we talked for a while and talk turned to north korea. the president said to me, jo

it has been effective and we know it has put a tremendous amount of pressure on north korea. they have made some of major promises, promises to denuclearize. they have made promises to us -- stop nuclear and missile testing and recognize that regular exercises between the u.s. and south korea will continue. the maximum pressure campaign, we're not letting up. we will not make any changes to that. we will continue in that effort, and we will not have this meeting take place until we can see concrete actions. that much of the words and rhetoric of north korea. >> do you think kim jong-un can be trusted? ms. sanders: we are not in the negotiation now. we have accepted the invitation to talk, based on them following through with concrete actions on the promises they have made. >> one other thing. lindsey graham said about this news, he said word of warning to north korean president kim jong-un, the worst possible thing you can do with donald trump in person is to meet in person and try to play him. if you do that it will be the end of you and your regime. is he reading the preside

get everything they want and give nothing in return. >> north korea has also reneged on previous dealsother sitting u.s. presidents have decided against meeting with north korean leaders and rewarding them with some legitimacy without getting concessions from them first. >> is it possible that they are better negotiators than president trump who prides himself on being able to make a deal? >> the north koreans have had 2582 years of experience dealing with americans, but in the states, the administration has changed. that is what the north sees as american strategic weakness, changes in personnel, changes in characters. >> reporter: the key player in this region is china, perhaps ththe only country with the leverage to force north korea to denuke rise, it has been tougher on enforcing sanctions recently but for years china has been north korea's biggest trading partner .. and a lifeline 0 too the regime. margaret. >> brennan: holly, thanks. and we will be back with our national security panel to talk more about this potentially more about this potentially historic development. >> exced

about north korea at the white house. president trump has agreed to meet the north korean leader, kim jong—un. the white house confirmed the meeting would happen at a time and place yet to be determined. the head of a south korean delegation that held talks with both leaders this week said the meeting would happen by may. the south korean envoy praised mr trump's uncompromising stance for adding to the pressure on north korea. north korea has agreed also agreed to halt nuclear and missile tests. the white house said the trump administration looked forward to the denuclearisation of north korea — but in the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain on pyongyang. the president said he agreed to the meeting because he is the ultimate decision—makers in his country. and the top story here in the uk: a jury at the old bailey has been shown a video, of the moment a bomb partially exploded on a tube train in south west london last september. now on bbc news all the latest business news live from singapore. presiden

the bench in north korea is a little depleted. e going to take advantage of this, the administration needs to think long gain here. to get expression from the north koreans about what it is they seek in order to feel secure. now, that can mean over time, you know, phased withdrawals of not complete evacuation but phased withdrawals of u.s. military. by the way, i think there's other demands when it comes to besides denuclearization, like withdrawing some of the forces they have on the four corners right abut the dmz. so i think you're right. over time probably we're just going to go back to status quo. i would hope, though, that -- and this is my concern, that we not chess speak here. because if the administration worked as the administration claims, there is jeopardy in causing a violent implosion of a north korea which would have all kinds of negative implications. so that's i think the danger here is we revert to, okay, we're just going to put the screws even more to north korea. well, that could create another set of problems.

there may have been a wall china and russia may have played some role i know they've been pressing north korea to to compromise in some issues and it could also be the north koreans have under gates a very robust missile a nuclear test program over the past year and a half and they probably gained a lot of data from that and they don't really need to test either of these two systems in the near term and what they need to do is develop their to live a warhead they can carry the nuclear. explosive device on a missile and for that they can just take a few months and if this gives more time to work on it and if the there are no meeting takes place or even if one does they can just resume in a much better place i see it was all to north korea's advantage to agree to this even though they haven't said anything what the u.s. and south korea and japan others need to think about is what are they going to condition this meeting. on up there and we were told they hope to get how much are they willing to sacrifice in titanfall games was done to talk about the regional implications with the camps i mean mo

rhetorically would love guru it would be a great thing for the world it would be a great thing for north korea a great thing for the financial dance as the leaders of the two koreas agreed to meet face to face in april also coming up growing injury tonight british police decontaminate the site for a former russian spy collapsed after being exposed to a mystery substance he's now in critical condition and a refugee crisis in south america tonight a special report on tenet's wayland's fleeing their country's economic crisis into neighboring colombia the story of their daily struggle just to survive. it's good to have you with us we start with a stunning offer from north korea to the united states ready to meet and ready to talk about getting rid of nuclear weapons the north has agreed to hold a summit in late april that would include the leaders of both countries and expected turn of events coming just a day after a south korean delegation met with the north korean leader in pyongyang it was kim jong un's first ever face to face with south korean officials since taking power. images from north k

am going to start with north korea. the north koreans told our south korean allies that they will refrain from testing more missiles and nuclear weapons, and they are willing to denuclearize. they made such promises in the past, but they will test their sincerity now that's president trump has agreed to meet the north korean leader. it's clear our maximum pressure campaign has brought us to this juncture. north korea proposes an early threat for which we are using our entire arsenal of economic authorities. theirars, they used ballistic missile programs with little global oversight. north korea has been watching -- launching missiles, and has boasted that it's weapons of mass destruction can reach american cities. korea, north korea has developed a brutal state apparatus to coerce, control, and punish ordinary citizens and any who might contemplate defense. it's estimated that tens of thousands of political prisoners are detained and in elaborate network of prison camps, just one of which is three times the size of wash

policy towards north korea. between the time that we sent out the invoice i believe for this event and today, the secretary of state of the united states was fired and we will hopefully i guess have a new one at some point soon. and so, we'll see what else develops and of course this hour-long discussion today when we get to check our friends again. but i am very happy to have a fantastic panel with us. one of our esteemed panelists will be joining us momentarily. kurt campbell will be joining us any minute now. but i'm very happy to introduce suzanne dimaggio, a senior fellow at the new america with many years of experience in track two dialogs with a variety of different countries around the world and lots of expertise in this area. so welcome, suzanne. and my colleague, kelly nachman, vice president for national security policy here at the center for american process, where we have also been trying to do a lot of work on north korea, which include something we posted just this morning and i can do my shameles

there's plenty of very strong experts on north korea. we've been dealing with the north koreans a long time. we've got a lot of veterans. susan thornton can handle this job. mark lambert at state department, chris kline. there's a number of people that may not be household words to your viewers but who are very expert. >> dana: they want me to wrap. i want to ask you, to me, this should not be that the united states only asks for the denuclearization. the humanitarian concerns in north korea are so astronomical. what do you think the president should ask for in that regard? >> well, the first thing, of course, is there are three poor americans still stuck in north korea. i would hope that those people will be released as a sign, a good gesture from the north korean side. there's also, as you said, this massive goolog in north korea. kim has to show positive signs that he's going to ease up on people in north korea. >> dana: thanks, dennis. glad you were available. >> thank you. >> dana: the white house set to brief at any moment. we'll ha

. >> brennan: are we in direct contact with north korea? >> i think secretary tillerson said there are channels open. >> brennan: but we haven't heard back whether kim will accept what the president has said is his willingness to meet as soon as may? >> i don't want to get into the conversations that may or may not be taking place, the president has indicated he is prepared to go have an initial discussion on this incredibly important topic and we are preparing for that time. >> brennan: now, the president accepted this invitation fairly quickly on the promise as you gestured to of a pause in missile and nuclear tests. why not ask for more? why not ask for actual freeze of their program so they don't use dip city as a cover to continue development? >> well, we have gotten more than any previous administration, an agreement to not continue testing nuclear weapons and their missile program. the things that would put them capable of getting across the threshold, that is critical. and he has allowed us to continue our exercises on the peninsula

and just left north korea north korea is tough. they are doing a lot of things. this should have been handled over the last 30 years. not now. they should have handled this. this should have been handled. and everybody will say it but that is ok. we handle things. host: that was the president, also tweeting over the past few days saying "north korea has not conducted a missile test since november 28, 2017 and has promised not to do so through our meetings. i believe they will honor that commitment." reaction? north koreans are pausing in their testing because they progress.tremendous it doesn't hurt them deposit. there are questions today about whether or not they are stopping testing. the president is giving an account of how he feels this is going. and he is very much interested in the drama of this. talking about south koreans going out to the media and it was a production. flattery tends to work with this president. i think the challenge here is that this is a situation where you cannot wing it. it has consequences. and for the president to walk into the meet

trust north korea now?but on the other side considering how many times a day donald trump has misstated or stated without evidence or outright by and considering in may 2 events will take place and one is the abandonment possibly of the iranian agreement and the other with kim jung-un should the north korean's trust united states? >> we will take those two and any final words. >> i do think that the president decides to withdraw from the iranian nuclear deal that would have an impact on negotiations negatively not just in the context to build trust with north korea but to marshal the international community around negotiations around the statement of sanctions so they see the president of the united states breaching trust on iran has a huge impact for north korea discussions down the road succeeding or failing. but the point of building trust we haven't talked about congress and the role they will play throughout these discussions with the framework we did have some serious problems with congressional engag

>> they smuggle these in every three months. >> and other defector groups. >> if we could call north koreal we wouldn't do this but there's no way you can. >> they sent thousands of giant balloons to be picked up by every day north koreans living in a dictatorship. >> why is the truth so destabilizing to north korea. >> what liars fear most is the truth. and he makes himself higher than gods you destroy that the dictator nation will be pulled down. >> his home country considers 24 such a threat that north korea spies have been sent to assassinate him at least twice. >> what's it like to be constantly surrounded by a threat. >> it's exhausting but someone has to do it. the defectors who do it consider it a mission. >> the worry for our family and the pain is always in our hearts. >> her mission is to help families become whole again through art and family therapy classes. she defected ten years ago and knows firsthand women are more likely to defect but are especially vulnerable. >> our organization has 7,000 members. about 5% of them come with family. the rest are mostly human trafficked i

we found out that north korea was possibly building a plutonium reactor while the obama administration was exercising strategic patience. they don't share our interest. they want to unify the korean peninsula under the north korean regime. this isn't just about nuclear weapons. big problem with north korea is proliferation. we found out that they sold 40 tons of chemical weapons and supplies to syria. let's say you got rid of the nukes and what happens to those program? it's a bad problem. >> it's complicated too. when you talk about syria component you have to bring in russia. it's part of the game on the ground too. then the question begins how much pressure could you count on russia russia to help you out with north korea. zero. we do have to do what the president is talking about. >> the problem is that by sitting down with kim jong-un, president trump has legitimatized him and agree there's something to discuss. it's great that he has -- >> so, under clinton's era, when they sent secretary of state madeleine albright. i say a because legitimatization or legitimatizing somebody, wh

because within north korea domestically north korea now tries to get on to the next step in of comic development and if it was only for survival they could have also survived with the sanctions but they want to develop economically that's very important to the north koreans that might have pushed them to re enter the dialogue but let's be optimistic and say this meeting happens all their risks to it they are always. risks of course but i think these risks can be reduced by before hand exchange of special envoys of the of the different parties and here in this process of course also south korea will continue to play a very important role as a broker between these two countries and good story how does a muslim from burdens for university thank you. kelly from washington now from correspondent accustomed phenomena welcome cost and how's this announcement been met capitol hill and in the media. well my impression is that the first initial response yesterday after the announcements of was very positive now skepticism is taking over of course there are supporters of president trump i

an engagement with north korea. south korea should be in the driver's seat. he has remained there and stayed there. he may offers last year to north korea to meet. they rejected it. they did not respond for over a year as they kept going under nuclear and missile program to defend themselves against what they believe is a threat from the united states. finally january 1, kim jong-un said he would send a high-level andgation to the olympics engage with talks with south korea. this is the result of the south korean initiative. the fact thahat trump may have poked his head in their, have heard about the meeting a and briefing at the last minute shows that south korea is in fact in the drivers seat. i think that is very important. the united states has been ,upporting these initiatives despite the fact that vice president pence which of the olympics and completely ignored the north koreans behind him and was ignored to his host. they know these talks have been going on. i think we need to focus on the role south korea has played and the historical -- you know, th

with north korea. -- japan has also offefered hola summit with north korea. we'll have more on the developments on north korea after headlines. a federal judge has allowed a lawsuit against president trump to proceed, which is accusing him of flouting constitutional safeguards against corruption and illegally accepting gifts from foreign governments without congngressional approval. on wednesday, a maryland judge ruled against the justice department's request to throw out the case. it centers on the trump international hotel in washington. in his decision, the judge said the accusation that trump hotel is illegally accepting gifts from foreign governments is "bolstered by explicit statements from certain foreign government officials indicating that they are clearly choosing to stay at the president's hotel, because, as one representative of a foreign government has stated, they want him to know 'i love your new hotel'," the judge wrote. "the new york times" is reporting that president trump's former la