President Donald Trump's action in crossing the North Korean border may have restarted stalled nuclear talks that weren't going anywhere, former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson said Monday, but he's also concerned that the action may have further legitimized Chairman Kim Jong Un.
"We have given him three freebies, and he has done nothing on denuclearization," Richardson told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "He has 60 nuclear weapons. He has muscles. He is probably laughing all the way to the bank."
He conceded that it is good that Trump has a personal relationship with Kim, and that there is now less tension on the Korean Peninsula, but now, it's important that there is a compromise in which North Korea does "something significant" on denuclearization and about its missiles.
Richardson said he does give Trump credit for reaching out to Kim, but still, the North Korean dictator has "done nothing."
"Tension is less, but he is still threatening Japan and America with Guam and Alaska," said Richardson. "What do I want? I want this summit to leave it to the negotiators, not the president. He should step away and let his negotiators cut a deal. Some sanctions relief for some denuclearization. Keep negotiating in the next few years. This is not going to be a one-time result."
Richardson added that he believes Kim returned from the Hanoi summit" very badly damaged" because he had promised sanctions relief but did not get it.
"Yes, he got a photo op with the president, but that's it," said Richardson. "North Korea is in serious economic straits. We need to make a trade deal with China because we depend on them for the tough sanctions on North Korea. That affects our troops and security."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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