When it comes to North Korea, the old adage of “Trust, but verify” isn’t nearly enough. We should—absolutely—be skeptical of the rogue regime’s claims. And we should, of course, hold them accountable for whatever promises they might make.

But we should still be encouraged by Kim Jong Un’s recent statements that he wants peace and is committed to stopping his nuclear weapons tests.

A lot of hard work stands between where we are and where we want to go, but the Trump Administration deserves credit for bringing us this far. The key question is whether President Trump can produce a deal that completely ends that country’s nuclear weapons program. 

In his efforts, Trump is assisted by an all-star team of aides: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.  If anyone can get this right, we should have confidence in this team.