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Virginia lawmakers respond to Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un

Virginia lawmakers respond to Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., (WVEC) -- A 5-hour historic summit between the U.S. and North Korea started with a handshake and ended with an agreement.

The US guaranteed the security of North Korea in exchange for denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula. President Donald Trump said he believes that Kim Jong Un wants to give up his weapons, and he has already dismantled one testing site.

President Trump promised to end an upcoming joint military drill with South Korea and claimed the drills, provocative and 'War Games,' were too expensive. In the end, Trump claimed ending the drill would save the United State a lot of money.

North Korea has long viewed the annual exercises as practice for future military action against them.
So, what will this agreement mean for Virginia and Hampton Roads?

Political experts Quentin Kidd said President Trump is approaching diplomacy different than other presidents. Kidd is Christopher Newport University’s Dean of Social Sciences.

"Not only did he [Trump] reverse the order of things, but he approached the negotiation a lot like a developer might approach a development project," said Kidd.

He said, in the past, a meeting with the president was the result of successful negotiations. This time it's the meeting first, and substantial changes second.

"If anybody got anything out of the meeting, it was the North Koreans that got a suspension of military exercises between the United States and South Korea,” said Kidd.

So, our state's leaders are weighing in. Virginia's Senior Senator, Democrat Mark Warner sent 13News Now the following statement about the meeting:

“Diplomacy is the most viable option for pursuing the dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear program. But it’s clear that Kim Jong-un walked away from Singapore with exactly what he wanted – the pomp, circumstance and prestige of a meeting with the President of the United States – while making no specific commitments in return. Whether this will result in a verifiable agreement to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, America and the world will wait to find out.”

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine's statement:

“I’m glad that they’re talking, but I’m concerned President Trump gave up too much without getting any specific concessions in return. President Trump’s quick willingness to cancel joint military exercises with our allies shows that he doesn’t understand how important these exercises are. I've got a son in the Marines who trains foreign militaries. When you train foreign militaries, that's not a ‘war game,’ it’s training our allies to defend themselves both as a deterrent and so the U.S. won’t always have to be involved in foreign wars. We’ve seen no details on whether North Korea will disclose everything that’s in their nuclear arsenal or how we would verify each step they take to dismantle it, something that’s critically important in any deal with an adversary.”

Republican Congressman Scott Taylor of Virginia Beach said he supports the President's actions.

"I'm proud of what the president has accomplished thus far,” said Taylor. "While we should all be cautiously optimistic that North Korea will move in the path of peace and denuclearize. This was historic and we should all be rooting for that peace to happen."

Taylor said if Kim Jong Un doesn't stick to his word it'll affect our community.

"It's our families that will bear the brunt of the responsibility of defending this nation there's no question about it,” said Taylor.

Democrat Donald McEachin of Henrico County said he agrees with that and believes it good to have open lines of communication.

“What you don't do though is give away things without getting something in return," said McEachin. "It seems like the president is coming back empty-handed."

Kidd said any results from the historic summit could take years. Some experts said it could take up to 15-years for North Korea to get rid of its nuclear stockpile.

There is still a lot we don't know about the North's nuclear program. Experts think they first tested a nuclear weapon in 2006, but nobody knows how many they have made and stockpiled since then.

The U.S. Government thinks North Korea has around 60 nuclear warheads.

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