Trump, North Korea deal too focused on US actions: Paul Wolfowitz

The way to end America’s confrontation with North Korea is by preventing Pyongyang’s massive buildup of military power along the demilitarized zone near South Korea -- not by demanding denuclearization, according to Paul Wolfowitz, President George W. Bush’s former deputy secretary of defense.

“There’s not a whisper about that anywhere,” Wolfowitz said during an interview with FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto on Tuesday. “It’s all about us and our exercises.”

President Trump and Kim Jong Un concluded their historic talks on Tuesday by signing an agreement that acknowledges progress in their talks. That deal reportedly includes a commitment to a “complete denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula aimed at establishing a “peace regime”.

But the vagueness of the talks -- there was no inclusion of words that specified the denuclearization would be verifiable or irreversible -- worried some, who warned that the Kim may be playing Trump.

Wolfowitz predicted that if denuclearization happens, it will likely take a “very long time.” Most likely, he said, it would be under the Hermit Kingdom’s broad definition of what that entails, which would probably include the end of the U.S. guarantee of South Korea’s security.

“I think it’s true they see it as leverage, which has gotten them a historic meeting with the president of the United States,” he said.