Will Trump be ready for North Korea meeting? U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson fears he won't

March 10, 2018
Washington

President Trump shocked the world, accepting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s invitation to discuss a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. Itâ€™s historic and high-stakes.
Just the FAQs

This combination of pictures created on March 09, 2018, comprising of an undated picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 17, 2018 showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and President Trump applauding as he stands in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square during the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Poland, on July 6, 2017.

President Donald Trump has agreed to a historic first meeting with Kim Jong Un in a stunning development in America’s high-stakes nuclear standoff with North Korea. Standing in front of the White House, South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong announced the first ever meeting between a US president and a North Korean leader, which he said would take place by the end of May.

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WASHINGTON â€” How should President Trump prepare for his high-stakes meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un?

He needs to quickly assemble a negotiating team of U.S. diplomats and develop a coherent strategy. He needs to consult with his predecessors. And he needs to reach out to lawmakers for advice on whatâ€™s achievable.

Thatâ€™s the advice of Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Richardson has traveled to the North eight times to negotiate with the North Koreans over releasing detained Americans, recovering the remains of fallen American soldiers, and other matters.

Richardson spoke with USA TODAY on Friday about Trumpâ€™s decision to meet with Kim. Here are the highlights of ourÂ conversation:

Q: What was your reaction to the news of this meeting?

Richardson: â€œI was flabbergasted. My initial thought is that it was the right decision for the president to accept the meeting. But Iâ€™m very concerned about not falling into a trap with the North Koreans. And Iâ€™m very concerned that the president and his team will not be ready, will not be prepared for some very tough negotiations.â€

Q: Why? Can you elaborate on those concerns?

Richardson: â€œThe reason I believe they wonâ€™t be ready is one, the presidentâ€™s own style, which is not to consult anyone and to shoot from the hip. The second is the absence of the Korea professionals in the State Department and Asian expertise in our diplomatic corps. Thatâ€™s my concern.â€

â€œâ€¦ But I think itâ€™s a risk worth taking. Hereâ€™s why. One, any reduction of tension in the Korean Peninsula is good. And Iâ€™ve never seen the state of tension and relationships among the parties there as bad as it is now. And secondly, I believe itâ€™s important to take advantage of Kim Jong Unâ€™s outreach, for whatever reason heâ€™s doing it.â€

More: Democrats skeptical of success in Trump-Kim talks

More: North Korea-U.S. talks: Why make the offer now, what does North Korea want in return?

More: White House seems to add conditions to summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un

Q: Why do you think KimÂ is doing it?

Richardson: â€œMy view is heâ€™s doing it to keep his power. Heâ€™s feeling the effect of sanctions on his country. I think heâ€™s achieved his ultimate military strength and this is when he feels he can negotiate. And lastly, I do think he has an end game that involves a deal between the United States and North Korea. Iâ€™ve been to North Korea eight times. The North Koreans always say if thereâ€™s going to be an agreement, it has to be the United States and North Korea. Weâ€™re the big guys in the region.â€

Q: What are the North Koreans like as negotiators? What can Trump and his team expect?

Richardson: â€œThe North Koreans are very tough, disciplined negotiators. They donâ€™t think like we do. they donâ€™t believe in the quid pro quo, because they believe their position is not just the correct position but that it emanates from the deity â€” in other words the cult of personality of their leaders. Theyâ€™re very proud. Theyâ€™re very stubborn. They are easily upset by insults.â€

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Children fly kites during Lunar New Year festivities North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un shakes hands with South The North Korean delegation of athletes, supporters Visitors take smartphone photos at the '8th National A chef prepares a dish during a demonstration at the A foreign visitor stands for a photo with a Korean This photo taken on Feb. 8, 2018 and released on Feb. 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This is a North Korean military guard outpost seen This undated picture released from North Korea's official These two ride a bicycle as they pass along a street Runners compete in the half-marathon in Pyongyang, Amateur horse riders compete during the 'Autumn Race-Goers A salesperson of 'Jilin Provincial Muziwu Daily Necessities' Spectators watch competitors during the 'Autumn Race-Goers Men and women participate in a mass dance event marking Men ride on a make shift raft to transport logs down Participants described as 'working people, youth, and A man shoots an air-powered rifle at a shooting stall A propaganda troupe perform a flag-waving routine outside Pedestrians pass through a square outside the central Visitors try a ride at an amusement fair in Pyongyang, Participants of a mass rally shout slogans as they Visitors look at kitchens on display at the 13th International A woman carries a child across a road in Pyongyang, A Chinese vendor hands scarves to North Korean customers A woman pulls a trolley across a street before a taxi Two men play pool at a bowling alley in Pyongyang, Service persons of the Ministry of People's Security Spectators gather to watch a public news brodcast of Dancers perform during the 20th ITF World Taekwondo A woman stands at a street-side flower stall in Pyongyang, Anglers compete during a fishing contest at Pothong A man crosses a street outside the central railway A girl leans on a lamp post outside the central railway Spectators listen to a television news brodcast of The skyline of Pyongyang, Sept. 20, 2017. 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A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba. Â
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Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant “defend!” as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the “Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.,” attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the “Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month” and it’s a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment.Â
Wong Maye-E, AP In this June 24, 2015, photo, a farmer stands in front North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, center, visits the A national meeting is held on April 14 at the Pyongyang North Korean workers plant seedlings in a field on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un enjoys his Dec. 1 visit A state photo from December 5 shows North Korean leader Soldiers and citizens rally at Kim Il Sung Square in
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. Â
Kim Kwang Hyon, AP This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean A December 13, handout photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un applauds the participants in the second This handout picture released from North Korea's official An undated picture from North Korea's official Korean People enjoy a ride at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park on Sept. 3 in Pyongyang. People shoot targets at an arcade at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park. North Koreans enjoy an amusement park ride. Women wait for customers at a makeshift photo service stand. North Koreans scream on the free-fall ride. A portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jung Un posing with judo gold medalist An Kum Ae decorates the wall at a local gymnasium on Sept. 2 in Pyongyang. North Korean athletes practice on a trampoline. A North Korean subway station staff member waits for the arrival of a train on Sept. 1 in Pyongyang. A boy arm wrestles with former NFL player Bob The Beast Sapp during a wrestling goodwill tour on Aug. 29 in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-Un attends the test firing of a new high-performance tactical rocket on Aug. 15. People bow to portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung on Dec. 17 in Pyongyang. It is the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. North Koreans visit Mansu Hill to pay their respects to former leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang. Soldiers prepare to place flowers at the statues of North Korean leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il on Mansu Hill. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, presides over an event to marking the second anniversary of the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang. Military officials applaud during an event marking the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. People bow at the statues of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il on Mansu Hill. People place flower bouquets before the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il on Mansu Hill. Women sweep around the statues of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sun, left, and Jong Il on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il on Dec. 16 in Pyongyang. North Koreans lay flowers at the base of statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang. North Korean soldiers gather at Kumsusan memorial palace as they stage a rally supporting their leader, Kim Jong Un, in Pyongyang. Soldiers march during a rally at the Kumsusan memorial palace. Jang Song-thaek is escorted in court on Dec. 12. The uncle of leader Kim Jong Un was executed after a shocking purge, with the state branding the once-powerful man a traitor. A man watches a television news program showing the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Jang Son Thaek, at his trial at a railway station in Seoul. Military vehicles parade during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice on July 27 in Pyongyang, North Korea. A North Korean soldier salutes from a tank during a military parade at Kim Il-Sung Square. Veterans of the Korean War wave to their leader, Kim Jong Un, during a military parade. People wave flags as walk with statues of former leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. People carry the North Korean national flags. North Korean tanks parade through Kim Il-Sung Square. Ugandan Vice-President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekand, left, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greet spectators. North Korean air force troops march in the parade. A North Korean soldier salutes from his tank. Soldiers march through Kim Il Sung Square. A unit of women soldiers march in formation. People wave flowers during the parade. People carry a portrait of former leader Kim Jong-Il. Dancers parade through Kim Il Sung Sqaure. Thousands of people hold up colored squares as they create a giant North Korean flag as they celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice during a performance at the Rungnado May Day Stadium on July 26 in Pyongyang. People hold colored material as they watch for their cue during a performance. One hundred thousand people created a synchronized socialist-realist performance in a 90 minute display of gymnastics, dance and acrobatics. Dancers perform in Pyongyang. Performers present a program on the field of the Rungnado May Day Stadium. Noth Korean army veterans watch the program. Fireworks explode above the Pyongyaang skyline. North Korean soldiers walk along a road in front of the truce village of Panmunjom at the Demilitarized Zone on July 22. North Korean pedestrians and bicyclists pass by a billboard for Pyeonghwa Motors, North Korea's car manufacturer, on a highway on the outskirts of Pyongyang. North Koreans stand to applaud during the opening night of the Arirang mass games performance at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium on July 22. This year's performance was timed to debut for the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. At dusk, the setting sunlight is reflected on the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 21. North Koreans clean a street after a heavy rainfall in Kaesong, North Korea. Thousands of North Koreans turn colored cards to create an image of the Unha-3 rocket that North Korea successfully launched in December 2012 during the Arirang mass games. A North Korean soldier sits inside a room in Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). North Koreans ride bicycles in the rain along the Taedong River bank in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean soldiers walk on a highway near the North Korean city of Kaesong. North Korean nurses sing and play the accordion while children dance during an event to start a campaign to give vitamin A supplements and deworming pills to children at a nursery school in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Child Health Day, May 20. UNICEF and North Korean government agencies are collaborating in the campaign to assist 1.7 million children across the country under age 5. North Korean nurses give vitamin A supplements and deworming pills to children dressed in their best outfits at an elite nursery school in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreans pass by the outer wall of a construction site where a propaganda billboard depicts the launch of North Korean rockets in Pyongyang, North Korea. The billboard reads: Let's open up an era to a strong economic country. North Koreans play a board game inside a sauna at the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea, on May 19. The newly opened complex houses a cooking school, multiple banquet rooms, swimming and wading pools, a billiards room and other spa and recreational facilities. North Korean swimmers enter a waterfall wading pool inside the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea. Wearing gym-provided workout clothing, North Koreans rest near the gym at the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea. Portraits of former North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il hang on the outside of a building in central Pyongyang, North Korea, on May 18. North Korean soldiers and civilians pose for photos April 25 as they tour the grounds of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum in Pyongyang where the bodies of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed. Last month, North Korea marked the 81st anniversary of the founding of its military, which began as an anti-Japanese militia and now has an estimated 1.2 million troops. North Korean soldiers tour the park surrounding Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. North Korean army Col. Kim Chang Jun stands behind field binoculars on a hilltop overlooking the Demilitarized Zone, south of Kaesong, North Korea, on April 24. A boy walks along a path in front of a village south of Kaesong, North Korea. A North Korean boy rides in a bicycle basket on a road north of Kaesong, North Korea. A North Korean boy on rollerblades is pulled by a woman on a bicycle on a road south of Kaesong, North Korea and north of the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas. A North Korean man checks his bicycle next to a propaganda billboard in Kaesong, North Korea. North Korean farmers work in a field inside the Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, North Korea. A North Korean traffic policeman stands at an intersection in Kaesong, North Korea on April 23. North Koreans walk bicycles along a street in Kaesong, North Korea. North Korean children walk in front of an apartment block in Kaesong, North Korea. North Korean soldiers stand on steps overlooking the border village of Panmunjom, North Korea. A painting, depicting North Korean soldiers ambushing and killing U.S. troops hangs on a gallery wall at an art exhibition Friday in Pyongyang. A North Korean boy practices his lines -- Our country is the greatest in the world -- as he is filmed by a local television crew at an exhibition of traditional calligraphy in Pyongyang. North Korean children perform in front of an image of weapons and bayonetsat Mangyongdae Children's Palace in Pyongyang. Children practice a musical performance at Mangyongdae Children's Palace. A guide stands in a waiting room at Mangyongdae Children's Palace in Pyongyang. Portraits in the background show North Korea's late leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il. Children work at easels during a drawing class at Mangyongdae Children's Palace. A North Korean soldier plows a field on the outskirts of Pyongyang. North Koreans walk along a sidewalk in Pyongyang. A North Korean soldier walks through a parking lot as workers paint a building block across the street in Pyongyang. A North Korean soldier guarding the entrance to Pyongyang's Kumsusan mausoleum, where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, looks back through the doors of the main gate Monday, April 15, 2013. North Koreans turned out on Monday to mark the 101st birthday of Kim Il Sung. A North Korean man misses the turn and loses control of his go cart on a track at the Fun Fair in Pyongyang on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. A North Korean child covers the eyes of her father as she sits on his shoulders watching mass folk dancing in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. Oblivious to international tensions over a possible North Korean missile launch, Pyongyang residents spilled into the streets Monday to celebrate a major national holiday, the birthday of their first leader, Kim Il Sung. North Korean commuters ride on a city trolley bus in Pyongyang. Marathon runners pass by a long row of North Korean soldiers as they cross a bridge in Pyongyang on Sunday, April 14, 2013. North Korea hosted the 26th Mangyongdae Prize Marathon to mark the April 15, 2013 birthday of the late leader Kim Il Sung. A North Korean woman walks past the outer wall of a construction site where a propaganda billboard depicting the launch of North Korean rockets in Pyongyang, North Korea. The billboard reads: Lets open up an era to a strong economic country. North Korean children hold up red scarves to be tied around their necks during an induction ceremony into the Korean Children's Union, the first political organization for North Koreans, held at a stadium in Pyongyang on Friday, April 12, 2013. North Koreans dance together beneath a mosaic painting of the late leader Kim Il Sung during a mass folk dancing gathering in Pyongyang Thursday, April 11, 2013, to mark the anniversary of the first of many titles of power given to leader Kim Jong Un after the death of his father Kim Jong Il. A North Korean man pushes a bicycle up a hill on the outskirts of Pyongyang. North Korean man drives a small tractor in central Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean pedestrians walk on a sidewalk past a large nationalist painting in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean children carrying brooms walk on a sidewalk in Pyongyang on their way to help tidy up the area around bronze statues of the late leaders as the capital city prepares to mark the April 15 birthday of its founder Kim Il Sung. A North Korean soldier passes by roadside propaganda depicting a North Korean soldier killing a U.S. soldier in Pyongyang. The poster reads in Korean Life or Death Battle. Merciless Punishment to U.S. Imperialists and Puppet Traitors. An apartment block stands among the buildings at dawn in central Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Reflected in the airport building glass, passengers disembark from North Korea's Air Koryo flight as they arrive at the Pyongyang International airport on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. North Korean soldiers march through Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on March 16. Two North Korean boys hop a ride on the back of a city tram March 14 to cross a bridge in Pyongyang. North Koreans select apples and oranges, imported from China, at a supermarket in Pyongyang on March 13. A North Korean soldier works at a computer terminal under portraits of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il inside the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang on March 12. A bus is covered in camouflage netting in a parking lot of a building in Pyongyang on March 9. A children's pop-up book, displayed by a teacher March 9 at at Kaeson Kindergarten in Pyongyang, depicts a U.S. soldier killing a Korean woman with a hatchet. For North Koreans, the systematic indoctrination of anti-Americanism starts as early as kindergarten. A North Korean girl readies a toy gun that fires rubber corks as she and others play a shooting game at a carnival March 8 at a park in Pyongyang. A Mercedes rides along a street in central Pyongyang. The U.N. Security Council responded swiftly to North Korea's Feb. 12 nuclear test by punishing the reclusive regime Thursday with new sanctions that target the communist nation's economy and leadership. Pyongyang responded with the threat of a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the United States. An image depicting a female North Korean soldier leading an attack is projected on a screen behind performers during a concert in Pyongyang marking International Women's Day. The text at the top of the screen reads, We are the General's female coastal artillery troops. North Koreans rally March 7 at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang in support of a government statement Tuesday that vowed to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War. The statement also boasted of North Korea's ownership of lighter and smaller nukes and its ability to execute surgical strikes meant to unify the divided Korean Peninsula. North Koreans carry bundles on their backs as they cross a frozen lake north of the capital city of Pyongyang on Feb. 24. A North Korean woman sings karaoke at the Hyangsan Hotel at the foot of Mount Myohyang on Feb. 23. North Koreans cross a railroad bridge over a riverbed south of Mount Myohyang, and north of the capital city of Pyongyang. A North Korean traffic officer patrols a street Feb. 22 in central Pyongyang. A nurse looks out of a window at a neighborhood health clinic in Pyongyang. A North Korean man stands next to a tractor and wagon on the edge of a snow-covered field near the village of Ryongsan-ri, south of Pyongyang. Pedestrians walk along a street Feb. 21 in central Pyongyang. A nurse comforts a baby at a nursery inside Pyongyang Maternity Hospital on Feb. 20. Well-wishers wave flower bouquets as buses carrying North Korean nuclear scientists and other officials pass by in Pyongyang. Scientists and other officials involved in the North's underground nuclear test on Feb. 12 arrived in the capital city Feb. 20 to a celebration. Photos showing different hairstyles hang inside a barber shop in Pyongyang. A 2013 calendar, showing a picture of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket, hangs inside a hair salon in Pyongyang. A North Korean portrait photographer instructs soldiers to pose for a picture under a mosaic of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at an exhibition in Pyongyang on Feb. 17, where Kimjongilia flowers, named after Kim Jong Il, were on display. A North Korean woman, with a fake Kalashnikov rifle used in a theatrical performance, stands in front of the Pyongyang Grand Theatre waiting for a ride. Soldiers ride an escalator past a model of their country's Unha Rocket as they enter an exhibition in Pyongyang. A musical performance is held in Pyongyang with the words Let's strike the imperialists mercilessly with the same success we had carrying out the 3rd nuclear test projected on a screen. Soldiers gather along a Pyongyang street during heavy snowfall. Female North Korean traffic officers gather in Pyongyang near bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to commemorate what would have been the 71st birthday of Kim Jong Il, who died Dec. 17, 2011. Children play with the camera of an Associated Press photographer as people gather in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on Feb. 16. Soldiers lay flowers at the base of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Offerings of flowers are lined up as North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of their late leaders. Pedestrians pass under a bridge in Pyongyang on Feb. 15. Cameramen use an elevated boom camera, left, and a older film camera to cover the opening ceremony of a figure skating exhibition in Pyongyang. North Koreans watch the opening ceremonies of a figure skating exhibition in Pyongyang. Hanging in the arena is a banner with the word Peace in English and Korean. Synchronized swimmers perform at an exhibition in Pyongyang. The exhibition was one of the events commemorating what would have been Kim Jong Il's 71st birthday. North Koreans leave an ice skating rink after a figure skating exhibition. A poster showing a model of North Korea's Unha-3 Rocket hangs in the lobby of a hotel in Pyongyang in Feb. North Korea is upgrading one of its two major missile launch sites, apparently to handle much larger rockets. North Koreans stand before a roadside mosaic of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to pay their respects to the dead leaders. Kim Jong Il died in 2011, Kim Il Sung in 1994.

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Trump and Kim plan to meet. Here are the worst insults they’ve slung at each other

Q:Â The White House has now suggested that North Korea must first agree toÂ take toward denuclearization. Could this fall apart?

Richardson: â€œIf it doesnâ€™t happen, itâ€™ll be a big blow to the U.S.-North Korean relationship. Itâ€™s going to be hard to walk back from these announcements that have happened on both sides.â€

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~/531603904/0/usatodaycomwashington-topstories~Will-Trump-be-ready-for-North-Korea-meeting-US-diplomat-Bill-Richardson-fears-he-wonapost/

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Will Trump be ready for North Korea meeting? U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson fears he won't

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Will Trump be ready for North Korea meeting? U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson fears he won't