Islam Times - Ex-CIA official says Trump ‘could have gotten more’ for Kim meeting

Islam Times - US President Donald Trump “could have gotten more” for meeting with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, says a former CIA official.

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell told CBS on Sunday that such a meeting would amount to “legitimacy” for Kim at home.

“So, I think that North Korea in general and Kim Jong Un, in particular, put a very high value on being seen as meeting with the president of the United States,” he said. “It gives him legitimacy both at home and abroad. It's very important to him. He has gotten — he will get that if this happens.”

He further suggested that the North Korean leader would continue his missile and nuclear tests.

“He has only given a short-term freeze in missile and nuclear tests, right? I think we could have gotten more for what he really wanted here,” Morell asserted.

Trump recently agreed to appear as the first sitting US president to meet with a North Korean leader, a meeting that could be held by the end of May.

The surprise announcement came despite the US president’s call to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea at the United Nations last year.

Tensions escalated between the two countries after Trump warned to “totally destroy” North Korea during a speech to the UN General Assembly.