Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti on Friday said National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will try to prevent President Donald Trump from making a bad deal with North Korea.
NPR host Joshua Johnson started the discussion on MSNBC's "Meet the Press Daily" by admitting he's a "little bit" cynical about what to expect from North Korea's newfound love of diplomacy.
"In some ways he [Kim] has been driving this process quite a bit. Remember, he was the one who fired missiles over the Korean peninsula and Japan, and he was the one who called for a peace summit," Johnson said.
Johnson said he is concerned North Korea is driving the talks so much that he is worried when the U.S. gets to the table, it will have little leverage.
Continetti shared Johnson's caution of the situation.
"Very well said. I mean, the key dynamic here is both leaders want deals," Continetti said, referring to Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"And what does that mean, are you too eager?" MSNBC host Chuck Todd responded.
"There is one person who isn't. And that's NSA John Bolton. I believe before he entered the government he said there is two ways this can go: long talks that end in failure or short talks that end in failure," Continetti said.
"So the question is, will reality hit?" Continetti said. "And will the staff in terms of Bolton and Pompeo be able to maybe walk back Trump's eagerness for a deal so that we don't concede too much."
The North Korean regime has threatened to withdraw and failed to comply with agreements, such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), at multiple points in history. Most recently, North Korea annoucened it had withdrawn from the NPT in January 2003 and once again began operating its nuclear facilities. The announcement led to the six-party talks–beginning in August of 2003–with China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. Those talks ultimately broke down in 2009.