*By Kavitha Shastry*
President Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a joint statement Tuesday that calls for North Korea "to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. "
The two heads of state agreed to the statement after a meeting in Singapore, where Trump and Kim greeted each other with a handshake in front a wall of red, white, and blue flags representing both countries.
It was the first time a sitting U.S. president had met a North Korean leader. Their four-hour meeting included only translators to facilitate the conversation ー no advisors.
After the meeting, Trump told reporters that he was suspending U.S. military exercises with South Korea, and he was confident that Kim would live up to his commitment to dismantle North Korea's nuclear arsenal "very quickly."
Marc Lotter, a former aide to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, called the apparent agreement a "remarkable transformation" of relations between the two countries.
"I'll tell you, a little over a year ago, I was on Air Force Two with the Vice President, heading to Asia, when North Korea launched and tested a ballistic missile," Lotter said Tuesday in an interview with Cheddar's J.D. Durkin. "We were in the air at the time. And now to come a year later, 14 months, and see where we're standing, this is a remarkable transition, it's a remarkable transformation."
The joint statement, which Trump described as "very comprehensive," called for follow-up negotiations between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a North Korean official to begin "at the earliest possible date," but there was no specific timeline. The statement signed in Singapore sets the stage for what's expected to be a long negotiation.
Trump's comment to reporters after the summit meeting that the U.S. would [cease military drills](https://qz.com/1303123/trump-gave-north-korea-a-huge-concession-by-committing-to-cease-military-drills-with-south-korea/) with South Korea seemed to be a significant concession not specified in the joint statement.
“We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see that the future negotiation is not going along like it should,” Trump said. “But we’ll be saving a tremendous amount of money. Plus I think it’s very provocative.”
Trump also said that the process of denuclearization in North Korea would be a prolonged process. "Well, you know, scientifically, I've been watching and reading a lot about this, and it does take a long time, you know, to pull off complete denuclearization," he said.
Barbara Demick, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, said in an interview Monday with Cheddar, that the process could take 15 years.
"I don't think the U.S. trusts North Korea at this stage," she said. "I know North Korea does not trust the United States. So it will have to be part of a process."
Already, the process of engagement between the U.S. and North Korea has taken a sharp turn from a year ago, when a series of missile tests by North Korea threatened to escalate hostilities, and Trump issued ultimatums to Kim on Twitter, calling him "Little Rocket Man."
After Tuesday's summit, Trump described the meeting as "fantastic," and said that Kim has accepted an invitation to the White House, "at an appropriate time".
When asked how the U.S. could ensure that North Korea would dismantle its nuclear weapons, [he responded:](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/12/us-to-suspend-war-games-with-south-korea-donald-trump-kim-jong-un-north-summit) “Can you ensure anything? You can’t ensure anything. I just feel very strongly -- my instincts, my ability, my talent -- that they want to make a deal.”
Trump also [recounted an exchange](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/world/asia/trump-kim-live-updates.html) he had with Kim in which he used his real estate background to convince the North Korean leader of the benefits of normalized relations.
“As an example, they have great beaches," Trump said. "You see that whenever they’re exploding their cannons into the ocean. I said, ‘Boy look at that view. Wouldn’t that make a great condo?’”
“You could have the best hotels in the world right there,” Trump said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/fmr-special-assistant-to-president-trump-says-north-korea-summit-lays-the-blueprint-for-better-relations).
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The Biden Administration is set to revise federal rules to address potential security risks from foreign-owned apps, mainly Tiktok. This comes after the White House opted not to pursue a forced shutdown of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform. Under these new rules, federal oversight would be expanded to explicitly include apps that could be used by foreign adversaries to steal or otherwise obtain data. Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Craig Singleton, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Although this week's weather is predicted to be less severe than the 2021 storm, Texans are preparing for the worst - stocking up on supplies and emptying shelves in grocery stores, once again. Some Texans still have not recovered from last year's tragedy, and are heading into the next few weeks with anxiety for what's to come. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Houston-based energy workforce & technology council, joins Cheddar News to discuss if the Texas grid will fail again.
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
After two NYPD officers were killed with an illegal gun, President Biden made a trip to New York City to speak on the issue of gun violence fed by the "iron pipeline" of illegal firearms that make their way from the South to the Big Apple. Kris Brown, the president of the gun violence prevention organization Brady United, joined Cheddar to discuss what this visit from the president could mean for the future of gun laws in America. "He's asked Congress to pass things like expanding the Brady background check system, but with the filibuster a barrier to so much action right now in the Congress, he's looking at solutions that involve funding at the federal level and really involve enforcement."
