I would actually say that it worked out for both of us far better than anybody could have expected. Translator we haa historic meeting and decided to leave the past behind. Chairman kim and i just signed a joint statement in which he reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We also agreed to vigorous negotiations to implement the agreement as soon as ssib chairman kim has td me that north korea is already destroying a major missile engine testing site. That was not in your agreement, i got that after the signed the agreement. I had do me a favor. Youve got this missile engine testing site. We know where it is because of the heat. Its incredible the equipment we have, to be honest with you. I said can you close it up. Hes going to close it up. Today is the beginning of an arduous process. Our eyes are wide open, but peace is always worth the effort. The menace of Nuclear Weapons will now be removed. In the meantime, the sanctions will remain in effect. Can you be specific about what assurances you are willing to give to kim un . Doest include reducing military capabilities. We are not reducing anything. We have right now 32,000 soldiers in south korea and id like to be able to bring them back home but thats not part of the equation right at some point i hope it will be, but not right now. We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money. This joint statement does not talk about verifiable or irreversible denuclearization. Is that a concession . Not at all. If you look at it, it said we are going to lets see here. It will be gone. I dont think you can be re plain. It will be verified. Well be verifying. How is that going to be achieved, mr. President . By having a lot of people there. The horrible record that they have on human rights, was that discussed all . Ishat something that you will tackle in the future . Yes, it was discussed. It will be discussed more in the future, human rights. What was also discussed in great detail, john, was the fact that they want the remains of their sons back. They want the remains of their fathers and mothers and all of the people that got caught into that really brutal war, which took place to a large extent in north korea. I asked for it today and we got it. That was a very lastminute, the remains will be coming back. The going to start that process immediately. Did you touch on the issue of peace treaty . Yeah. And also will you travel to pyongyang any time soon . At a certain time i will. That will be a day i very much look forward to at the appropriate time. I also will be inviting chairman kim at the appropriate time to the white house. Wha is the immediate next step . Is there some ongoing dialogue . Yes. Were getting together next week to go into the details. Secretary pompeo yeah, next week with john bolton and our entire team to go over the details and to get this stuff done. How do you ensure that north korea is not all talk, no action . Well, i think can you ensure anything . Over my lifetime, ive done a lot of deals with a lot of ople. Sometimes the people that you most distrust turn out to be the most honorable ones and the people that you do trust, they are not the honorable ones. Americans woke up to historic images this morning. The president of the United States and the leader of north korea in front of flags of both nations shaking hand something that never happenedbefore. Why . President trump and kim jongun sat down signing an agreement the two sides worked out. The two nations agreed to establish better relations, build a lasting and stable peace, reaffirm the declaration made after kim and south korean president moon jaeinade in april and the most significant thing, the north agreed to hand over the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action from the korean war. Reaction poured in from the region following the summit. In tokyo this morning, japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe said he welcomed kims commitment to denuclearize the kn peninsula. In beijing, the minister of Foreign Affairs called on the United Nations to suspend sanctions against north korea and the perhaps with the most at stake, south korean president , moon jaein, watched coverage with his cabinet telling reporters he hardly sle slept the night before the historic moment. Just a short time ago kim jongun began his trip to the airport, having accomplished what his father and grandfather never could, meeting with the sitting u. S. President. So for kim jongun, clearly a massive win. President trump boarded air force one to returnhome. But before leaving, he was surprisingly candid about just how tentative the whole situation remains. You trust him . I do trust him, yeah. Now, will i come byou in a year and youll be interviewing and i say, gee, i made a mistake. Thats always possible. Were dealing at a very high level. A lot of things can change. A lot of things are possible. He trusts me and i trust him. Now i want to bring in nbc chief global correspondent bill neely live in singapore and director of Asian Security at the asia society, lindsay ford. Bill, to you first. We are looking at these historic sittingether. Se twoeaders a lot of people have already said to me this morning take a breath, give credit where credit is due. These two men are sitting down. But give us a history lesson. Was President Trump able to get a meeting that no previous president was able to get . Or was he willing to take a meeting that no previous president would consider taking with an autocratic leader, a massive human rights violator . I think back to 2007 when president obama said he would be willing to meet with the north Korean Leader and he was blasted from democrats, from republicans. Sean hannity said this shows what poor Foreign Policy experience obama has. Fast forward to 2018 and sean hannity is saying this is extraordinary that trump achieved this, and were saying look at this amazing thing that he did that no one else could. Is it no one else could or no one else would . Reporter yeah, stephanie, you know, its Glass Half Full or glass half empty. But youre right, the Inconvenient Truth for President Trump is that the North Koreans have wanted to sit down with a u. S. President for decades. You know, the Propaganda Machine might spit out nasty words and they might launch missiles, but what they have always wanted was respect and recognition and really its party time in pyongyang, because thats exactly what the elite has got, respect as an equal nation. Look at the choreography, look at those flags, six north korean, six american, same number of officials on each side. They have been respected as an equal nation. And kim, well, he is not pariahed now but partnered and showered with praise by an american president to an almost embarrassing degree. Compare what President Trump said about kim jongun to what he just said about justin trudeau. It is pretty amazing. But you know, again, to be fair president , what h got is a historic summit and surely we are in a different place, at least if not a better place than we were last year with fire and fury, stephanie. Without a doubt. Think about this, last year, fire and fury, talk of the little button. Imagine how so many people on the peninsula felt. Lindsay, secretary pompeo talked all about verification, verification, verification. His press conference monday, you know, wasllbout this v. Yet in the document that ive seen, is verification anywhere . No. It magically disappeared, unfortunately. So were going to take kim jonguns word for it when we know in the past north korea has agreed to these identical terms and then reneged . Yeah. You know, the concern for me with the statement, i think there were a lot of assumptions going into this that wed probably have something that was light on details. I think its lighter on details than even we anticipated or hoped. And the question now is what have you what kind of process have you set up f mike pompeo . And thats the concern that i have. The president is actually sort of leaving mike pompeo with a pretty weak hand to play as he goes into really critical negotiations to see if you can now produce a more meaningful substantive agreement, because he sort of set the table in a really weak way where north korea doesnt really seem to have committed to anything beyond probably what their opening bargaining position was here. But thats President Trumps jam. Whether youre talking health care or tax reform, he always says im the guy who closes the deal and my boys work out the details. So i want to share what he specifically said about what wasnt in the agreement, because he leaves that to pompeo. Kim jongun for a complete verifiable irreversible denuclearization and can you say why you didnt secure those details in this agreement . Because theres no time. Im here one day. Were together for many hours intensively, but the process is now going to take place. He could staylonger, lindsay. Yeah. You know, i mean its funny, its not. This is why in diplomacy you start with the experts at the beginning. Its why you actually wait until you have an agreement in hand to send the president out, but he insisted on this very abbreviated process where he was going to fly in and he was going to be the one who could really do something that nobody else could. And again, at the end of the day, its just not so. Theres no substitute for hard work in these situations. Well, President Trump would say, or i shouldnt put words in mouth, but if you look at him over the last 24 hours, its been all about reading the room, reading kim jongun and making him feel good, leaning over, complimenting him, smiling and really build him up. Does it seem like President Trump is relying on creating this personal relationship with kim jongun that will get him over the top . That is something no one else has done before. While criticize it, it just might work on a super ego monster like kim jongun. And i dont mean monster, i mean hes an ego guy. Bill. Reporter yeah, President Trump does rely a lot on personal relationships and this might be a foundation from almost nothing. Remember, there is no trust whatsoever between these two countries, so it might just build. But i mean i was reminded of george bush jr. Saying i looked into putins eyes and i saw his. You know, this could come back to haunt President Trump saying i trust him. Again, you might say politically, remembe george bush sr. When he said read my lips, no new taxes. These things politically can come back to haunt people. And if in two years time there is nothing from this deal so far, people will say, all right, so you thought the iran deal was the worst thing that had ever been negotiated, just tell us what is being achieved by this north korea deal, mr. President. So it is a huge personal risk. Well, its a huge Political Risk for President Trump. And personal relationships only go so far. Ask justin trudeau. Ask president moon, who said he didnt get a good nights sleep last night. There is every indication, stephanie, that south korea knew nothing about the cancellation of military exercises in august, because both the military and the presidency have put out statements basical saying what . You know, we need to check this out. So it may well be that president moon wasnt even consulted by his great friend, President Trump. Victor cha did say south korea was unaware of this and theyre obviously left very vulnerable. Bill, lindsay, thank you. I just want to button that up. To the point bill made earlier, remember that one meeting that President Trump had with president obama, obama said the number one concern, the most atrisk situation is north korea. It wasnt long ago we were in a very tense situation and now at best you have these two guys shaking hands and smiling, so while there might not be huge progress, that remains to be seen, at least it definitely feels like the tension has been turned down. Next, kim jongun has killed his own family members. Starved countless koreans and brutalized his own people in labor camps. Were going to look at this leadere leader that our presiden is calling very strong. Maybe its a savvy negotiating tactic, but we need to remind you just who this man is. He is not the peer of an american president. Plus, what would it take to clear north korea of its Nuclear Weapons. We are going to explain how complicated it could be. You dont just throw it in a dumpster and the remnants could end up in the state of tennessee. So im not happy unless my hands are dirty. Between running a business and four kids, were busy. Auto insurance, homeowners insurance, Life Insurance policies. Knowing that usaa will always have my back. Thats just one less thing you have to worry about. I couldnt imagine going anywhere else. Theyre like a friend of the family. We are the cochran family, and well be usaa members for life. Save bbundling usaa home and auto insurance. Gee today. His people, you see the fervor, they have a great fervor, theyre going to put it together and i think theyre going to end up with a very strong country and a country which has people, that theyre so hard working do you know why theyre so hard working . Theyre in prison camps. That was President Trump talking about the north Korean Peoples love for kim jongun. So lets take a look at the life under the kim dynasty. North Korean Society is split into three categories according to human rights groups. Loyal, wavering and hostile. A citizens category is arbitrary but determines everything about that persons life. Educational opportunities, employment, marriage, even travel and food rationing. There are 51 subcategories to determine the exact mix of privileges and opportunities. A persons class is largely dependent on the actions of their family. From second cousins to grandparents, its incredibly ha move up, but it is very easy to fall. The top class, loyal, is the best off. Descendants of those who fought the japanese clone juary authority during world war ii and the families of soldiers who fought and died in the korean war. They largely live in pyongyang and run the military and government. They get imported food. Many go to western universities. Life is good for this group. Next, wavering. Anyone related to those with low level involvement during the japanese colonial period. They have a secondtier education and work as lowlevel technicians. Their lives are closely monitored by state surveillance. And at the bottom, hostile. Anyone whose grandparents served in the japanese colonial government, lived in south korea before 1953 or are seen as disloyal to the party. During famine this group would be the first to starve. Thats right, starve. And yocould be wavering or even loyal. But if your brother, sister, son or cousin tries to defect to the south, you will get sent to a political prison camp. The hostile class is forced to live and work in mountainous regions, farming land that barely supports crops or mining, always under fear of being disappeared by the government. Many end up in political prisons where they suffer rape, torture, starvation, beatings, and summary execution, according to a u. N. Report. They work in forced labor but by no means free. Many times a person doesnt even know what group the government classifies them under. Their loyalty to the state is examined every time they come to government attention, applying for work, travel, even within the country or marriage. And fortunes can change in an instant. So earlier when i corrected myself, when i said in a flippant way that hes a monster, that was a mistake. He is. Joining me now, former ambassador to the united bill richardson. Ambassador, you have gone to north korea several times and negotiated prisoner releases. Right now there are more than 100,000 North Koreans being held as political prisoners. Give us a look into these labor camps, because for those of us who dont know, who listen to the president and the picture hes painting about these North Koreans and their loyalty to kim jongun and how happy theyll be at the end of this, tell us what their lives look like. Well, ive been to north korea eight times, and i have to admit that whenever i go, im closely watched and not given much access. But ive been to the rural areas. I know about some of these very bad reports about human conditions. There are prison camps. Many of the american prisoners that weve been able to get out and others have been in these prison camps and labor camps. A lot it, though, is because of the extreme poverty in north korea. Its one of the poorest nations if not the poorest on earth, especially in the rural areas. Pyongyang has mainly the military, the intelligence people, thos that work for the vernment. Their food is rationed they have minimal salaries, but they survive. I think the first step, stephanie, is full unfettered access by the United Nations into north korea to document some of these abuses, some of the prison conditions. Secondly, allowing groups like amnesty international, human rights watch, to really look at the statistical situation regarding human rights. I think those reports that weve gotten have been from defectors, theyre not direct human rights investigations by the u. N. Because north korea doesnt allow access to anybody of types. So i think this is very important, that if we are going to have, for instance, investments in north korea, economic assistance, that that assistance like the congress has mandated be contingent on human rights, be contingent on proper treatment of individuals and absence of torture, ways that we condition our assistance to countries around the world, otherwise the encouraging part is the president did say that kim jongun wanted to change things. Well, you know, theres got to be pressure on that. You know, im disturbed that we didnt talk about human rights more. The president kind of glanced at it and said, well, we talked about it but very briefly. We mainly were talking about denuclearization. North koreans get those signals when you dont raise an issue. And this is very important for the International Community and for the Korean People too. Then do you think the president doesnt understand how important the human rights issue is . You know, his perspective could be, well, those are the north Korean People, im not responsible for them, im responsible for the American People and the American People care about denuclearization. Could that be his perspective . Well, yeah, i worry about the president. He seems to like dictators that are not very strong on human rights like duterte in the philippines and putin in russia and many others, now kim jongun. I worry about that. You know, for some reason, we shun s the democracies, our allies, like what happened in this debacle in quebec with the european union, with the canadians. You know, you kind of wonder why is the president more comfortable with authoritarian figures. And thats bothersome because these authoritarian figures have very little regard for democracy, for human rights, treatments of their own people. And my hope is that with north korea the situation is so bad it cant get any worse, so theres room, dramatic room for progress. So while its still , very early to tell, how would you grade this summit in terms of progress, because were coming off, to your point, an absolutely awful trip with our closest democratic allies and canada. Well, i would say on the normalization front, on the tone of the personal connection of the two leaders, on diffusing tensions in the peninsula, i think that was a positive. It was a historic summit. On the denuclearization missile issue negotiations, very vague. This is typical of the North Koreans. They always want you to go first. We went first by suspending the military exercises. Then they say now then well do something. Well, thats where they get you. So i think a peace treaty negotiation, hang it up there, dont give it to him, find ways that they denuclearize that they destroy weapons, that they freeze the technology on the missiles so it doesnt hurt japan and south korea and the american mainland and hawaii and guam and alaska. But, you know, the meat on the bones wasnt there on the important substantive issues. And again, human rights. I just wish we had pushed harder. Im pleased about the issue of the en. Theres 5,000 remains of our soldiers from the korean war. I brought seven back in 2007. There are a lot of families around the country, these are 17, 18yearold kids that were killed in the korean war. The remains have to come back to give closure to their families. It seems that progress was made on that issue. But the issue of human rights in the region in asia is critically important, especially since south korea is such a thriving democracy and there is respect for Democratic Institutions and elections and human rights there. All right, ambassador, thank you so much. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me this morning. Ambassal richardson. I want to stay on that when we come back, talking about north korea and their nukes and what it actually takes to dismantle the gimes Nuclear Infrastructure and how some pieces could actually end up here in the u. S. But before we take a break, its my favorite part of the show. It is time now for monumental americans. Today in light of the fight against Nuclear Weapons, we are honoring american activist bella abzug and dagmar wilson. Abzug was worn in 1920 and became an attorney and u. S. Congresswoman for new york. Wilson on the right was born in 1916 and was an artist and illustrator of childrens books. She died in 2011. Together, these women cofounded women strike for peace. At the height of the cold war in women to march in 60 cities to protest nuclear testing. It washe Largest National womens peace protest of the 20th century a it helped push the u. S. And soviet union into a Nuclear Test Ban treaty. Thank you to those women. If you have a monumental american, please share it with us. Tweet us velshiruhle. Im a fighter. Always have been. When i found out i had velshi. Agerelated macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. My doctor and i came up with a plan. It includes preservision. Only Preservision Areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the National Eye Institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd. Thats why i fight. Because its my vision. Preservision. Try areds 2 multivitamin. Todays Senior Living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. And theres never been an easier way to get great advice. A place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. A place for mom. You know your family we know Senior Living. Together well make the right choice. 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Kim jongun has agreed to work toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula but without any deadlines in the deal that could almost anything. During a briefing with reporters on air force one right before leaving singapore, trump insistede has a complete plan. How do you get people in there . Well have to check it. Well check it very strongly. But he has a plan total and complete. And you trust him . I do. You know, as i told you in six months, lets the answer is i do. A total plan for denuclearization. You said he has a total plan. He has a total plan. For denuclearization. It will get done. Hes got a complete plan, we just dont know what it is. Today expe north korea, diplomats and lawmakers, are giving mixed reviews on the summit. What this seems to be is ultimately very much a trumpian summit. Tremendous emphasis on chemistry and on the personal relationship and yet again a desire to reduce the american footprint in the world. I think the president , he should get some credit here for having arrived at this day, turned away from war where we were seven or eight months ago and turned toward diplomacy. But i must say i think the big question ive got, david, is does donald trump have the strategic patience to carry out a multiyear negotiation. He is not a famously patient person. When you start looking at the statement, putting aside the syntactical problems, youll see it has major problems and frankly is an invitation for the North Koreans to do nothing, or nothing i should say in our lifetime. This is a good thing that the two leaders met, it does break ice and create a personal relationship. I must say i was a little taken aback by the North Koreans flags and american flags side by side. We really arent side by side youd want a complete and full declaration of all Nuclear Weapons, weapons, precursors, facilities and expertise that then could be identified, located and verified by the International Atomic energy agency. These sorts of specifics are completely miss from this document. If the president really wants to make sure Otto Warmbier didnt die in vain, he has to be i dont think he deserves the trumps thumbs up yet. Certainly nothing in the history of kim jongun or his father or his grandfatherhat would demonstrate we should be optimistic. But having said that, youve got to y. Im hopeful. I think he has convinced kim jongun that hes better off giving up his Nuclear Weapons than he is keeping them and thats the goal. Denuclearizing north korea will take a herculean effort and the New York Times laid out the steps it will take to break down 50 years worth of nuclear development. Thats all they there. First, the north must dismantle and remove the Nuclear Weapons. Inspectors would watch north korean engineers take apart each weapon and ship the parts out of the country, possibly down to the Oak Ridge Laboratory in tennessee. Second, halt uranium enrichment. They have to be shut down and dismantled as well. North korea has five enrichment plants according to a 2014 Rand Corporation report. Third, disable the reactors, which turn uranium into plutonium making for a more powerful blast. The north has one reactor and it is in the process of commissioning a second one, a bigger one. Fourth, close the nuclear test sites. Last month the north blew up tunnels at its only known test site. And experts now see, you have it right there on your screen must determine whether that site is unuseable. Fifth, end hbomb fuel production. What does that the north has to close these fuel plants which can make atom bombs hundreds of times more destructive. It is suspected of having at least two of these sites. And the sixth step, inspect anywhere forever. The north would need to give International Inspectors freedom to review almost any site in the country, including military facilities, under past agreements inspectors were limited to small partsf the nations main atomic complex. Joining me now, lacy heely, clear expert and partner with Truman National security project, a group focused on ic solutions in National Security. This, denuclearization, my sister, this is your jam. And again, its going to take a long time toeall understand what we got out of this summit, but whats your take thus far . So just watching you lay out those steps, it really it really hit home for me just how hard this is going to be honestly. We have to understand that this summit was a first step. It was we didnt lay out any of this process. Sure, trump says kim has a plan but we dont know what that plan is. And that plan, those types of plans, they take a very long time to negotiate and a very long time to carry out. Maybe 15 years, maybe 10 years. This could take a very long time. Its not a sixmonth process were going to be completing. Weve done these kinds of things before. We did a large amount of dismantlement in the former soviet states when the soviet union crumbled, but that was done over many, many years. And it has only just recently been finalized. So if were talking about a process of full and complete denuclearization, the kind of thing that the Trump Administration says that its pursuing, we have to understand that this is going to take a very long time. Okay. So we went this with the concern that what trump thought was denuclearization and what kim jongun thought was denuclearization were two different things. As we walk out of the summit, it seems thats still the case, because based on what the agreement looks like, they havent agreed to anything that hasnt already been agreed upon and reneged upon in the past. Yes. So the agreement actually really just reiterates what had been said earlier this year on the north korean side. They have agreed to denuclearize at some point in the future. But this is sort of a north korea thing, this is what they do. They say, yeah, sure, well get rid of the nuclear some day. You ju go ahead and do all of those things that benefit us in the meantime and well get around to it. Thats not a process that were going to be able to stick with for very long. Were going to have to come back with the kimregime. Were going to have to talk toe the definition of denuclearization and get on the same page and really talk about these steps and the nittygritty details. I will say thats where things have the possibility at many points to break down. Its likely that the Trump Administration is not looking forward to digging into those details, so i do hope that theyll stay just as committed to this process, just as committed to diplomacy as they have been, and really begin to work through this, because its going to take some time. Me, just having to read through those six steps, i could barely get through it. It is a herculean effort. Thank you so much. Next, one of kim jonguns biggest dreams, goals, might actually be coming true. President trump says he is suspending joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula. He calls them war games, ones that are a big waste of money. What that means for the u. S. Troops who are there and our allies who depend on america for protection. You are watching vvelshi ruhle live on msnbc. You alwahe lowest priceo on our rooms, guaranteed . M lets get someone to say it with a really low voice. Carl . Lowest price guaranteed. What about the worlds lowest limbo stick . How low can you go . Nice one, carl. Hey ive got an idea. Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Badda book. Badda boom. Nice. Always the lowest price, guaranteed. Book now at choicehotels. Com and we got to know the friends of our friends. R the friends. And we found others little less alone. T like thata but then something happened. We had to deal with spam, fake news, and data misuse. Thats going to change. From now on, facebook will doe to keep you safeand protec. Because when this place does what it was built for, then we all get a little closer. Second question, on the security assurances you talked about in your statement, can you be specific about what assurances you are willing to give to kim jongun . Does that include reducing military capabilities . No. No, were not reducing anything. At some point i have to be honest, and i used to say this during my campaign, as you know probably better than most, i want to get our soldiers out. I want to bring our soldiers back home. We have right now 32,000 soldiers in south korea, and id like t able to bring them back home, but thats not part of the equation right now. At some point i hope it will be, but not right now. That was President Trump not saying u. S. Troops would withdraw from south korea but leaving some wiggle room. Lets look at the u. S. Forces in south korea right now. Despite the president s number, the pentagon reports there are just over 25,000 active duty and reserve personnel stationed at several military bases in south korea. The troops along the Demilitarized Zone that borders the north are always on high alert. Their mantra, ready to fight tonight. In the region, the seventh fleet has at least 13 Forward Deployed ships patrolling the waters, including a powerful aircraft though the pentagon does not discuss submarine movements, its a safe bet theres at least one or two in the area. On air bases inside south korea, powerful b1 bombers along with several other aircrafts are fueled and ready to go. They took part in the recent max thunder military exercises the president was referencing there. And Nuclear Capable b2 bombers are nearby on guam, also ready if needed. All this military posturing costs upward of 1. 5 billion a year. South korea pays about half the bill under a costsharing agreement reached in 2014. Last year the Trump Administration sought an extra 4 billion for a Missile Defense system to counter the threat from north korea. For more, i want to bring in nbc News Pentagon correspondent hans nichols and msnbc National Security analyst, my friend, evelyn farkas. Hans, do you first, secre is didnt say the troops would be leaving but didnt rule it out either. What exactly is going to happen here, and how did the troops take this . Whats going to happen is the president will make a decision and the policy will be translated to the pentagon and the pentagon will have to figure out some way to make that happen. Weve seen this time and time again, where the pentagon appears to be caught flatfooted by a policy decision by the president. Weve seen it with transgender, you saw it with the military parade. Whats very clear from officials here, when the president makes a policy decision, even if they disagree with it, they will implement it. We saw a little of that with secretary mattis challenging President Trump on the iran nuclear deal. Eventually he fell into line and toed the party line. Steph. Lets talk about these military exercises. President trump dismisses them as expensive war games. Im guessing thats not how general mattis feels. The view is you need to train. They would never say war games here at the pentagon. Theyre always referring to them as military exercises. And the question here at the pentagon, really the urgent question is what counts as what the president is calling war games. To be Forward Deployed in korea means youre constantly training. Down there at camp humphries, i was there a couple of months ago, they have a giant rail spur that goes to the back of the base. Wh they have at . Because they want to take tanks out all the time to go up to the ranges. They dont like to drive the tanks on the roads because they rip up the roads. There is constant training in south korea. So what qualifies as what the president says war games and wh here at the pentagon is required for not just lethality but readiness to make sure you dont have the aviation or sea mishaps that weve seen so many deaths in the last several months. Evelyn, nobody likes paying for insurance. I dont. Over the years its massively expensive. I cant touch it, i cant feel it, it feels like it goes nowhere, but its my protection. Yes. Could you make that kwif a s equivalency when you talk the military there. I wonder if the president understands the purpose. No, he clearly doesnt. First of all, you need deterrents. You need to create the impression and the true impression, you need to create the impression among your versaries and theyre not just north korea. This is a regional effort. Yes, we exercise with the South Koreans but you mentioned the seventh fleet. Thats based in japan. This is about deterring north korea, its about deterring china, its about deterring russia, its about maintaining freedom of navigation through the sea and in the air for the United States and our allies, for the International Community at large. We are still the number one military power. It doesnt actually cost that much. Sure, when you say a billion dollars a year to the average american, that costs a lot. But if you put it in the context of the overall pentagon budget its a drop in the bucket. Its almost 700 trillion, the u. S. Defense budget. So first of all, its not a lot of money. And then you have to exercise to be ready. And thats important for deterrence. If your adversary wants to beli come at them if they charge at you, if youre going to defend yourselves and youre going to do it effectively, you have t exercise. Training is really important for ourroops at l level, at the unit level, all the way up through the echelons and, frankly speaking, its important when were doing it with the South Koreans because god forbid we have a war on the Korean Peninsula, well be fighting shoulder to shoulder with the South Koreans. Join me in this fantasy. Lets say President Trump has played kim jongun. Listen, theyre similar guys. As absurd as it is to see Dennis Rodman in a pot coin tshirt there, this is the sensibility that were living in. Lets just say President Trump and his compliments work on kim jongun. What plagues this country . Extreme poverty. What if President Trump actually strikes a chord and they denuclearize. Does that solve the problem . No. Would it make sense for us to pull troops or is that such a basic sophomoric way to look at this its just nonsense . Look, theres mer c if the North Koreans reduce the Nuclear Threat to us and our allies in the region, we should take some sort of action, reciprocal action, right, but i do not believe that halting our exercises or reducing our forces on the peninsula are commensurate. Completely doesnt take care of that threat. It could take a new, new kind of government. I dont mean regime change, necessarily. Kim jongun, if he really has that change of heart or change of mind if hes the ultra pragmatist and comes around to presenting government and a military that is no longer a threat to his neighbors or to u. S. Interests then we can talk about it. Terring china as well. China is a big threat. Exactly its a potential choke hold for global trade. I think about a third of global trade goes through the south chie chi china sea. Shaking hands and saying i lo you man, its just the beginning. Thank you so much. Next, the u. S. Gun Lobbyist Group and their connection to russia of all places. Were talk about the nra and new reports that executives were in touch with Russian Elites during the 2016 campaign. Well tell you why they were there and how russians could be using the iconic gun lobby to push its own agenda here in america. First, today marks two years, youre not going to believe what im about to say. Two years since the pulse nightclub massacre in orlando, florida. 49 people died. 53 were hurt. Later today a Remembrance Service will be held at that nightclub and churches will ring bells a total of 49 times. The survivors and victims will be honored in an artit in orlando. Think about all those victims today. An absolute american tragedy. Alice is living with metastatic Breast Cancer, which is Breast Cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. Shes also taking prescription ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women with hormone receptorpositive her2 metastatic Breast Cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. Ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. Patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. Before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Alice calls it her new normal because a lot has changed, but a lot hasnt. Ask your doctor about ibrance. The 1 prescribed fdaapproved oral Combination Treatment for h mbc. Im alex trebek, here to tell you about the Colonial Penn program. If youre age 50 to 85, and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54. Alex, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan, available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed. And this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours just for calling. So call now. And with twice the detail of other tests. It n show dad where hes from. And strengthen the bonds you share. Give dad ancestrydna for just 69 our lowest fathers day price ever. A new report claims several promise innoce prominent russians met with nra executives during the 2016 campaign. According toaphs in an nra source, russian banker and nra member accompanied by two other russians met with nra leaders in russia back in 2015. Joining me now iestigative journalist who helped break this story. First, we need to remind our audience the nra was the biggest backer of trump campaign. They spent about 30 million bucks. Talk to us about this meeting. Russians were there. They are allowed to be members of the nra. Why is it a big deal . This meeting is unseemly for a couple of reasons. Deputy Prime Minister who was at the meeting in december of 2015, was under sanctions stemming from the russia incursion in crimea. A second individual who was at the meeting Sergei Rudolf who runsargest charity in russia but he works for a man under sanctions at the time. Another reason many hiends sight this looks unseemly is because the russians were hacking the Democratic National committee and john podesta they had already done a social media bli blitz. Do we know the russians at the nra meet Rudy Giuliani tied to any of that . We reported in january that the Mueller Investigation also includes whether the number two person in Russia Central Bank was involved in funneling russian money to the nra to help trump win the election. We dont know what the role of the other two men would be. If theres more smoke and well have to see how this goes. The story keeps getting so interesting. Right now some pretty big action in washington, d. C. Today a special day. They are putting politicsaside to celebrate the caps first ever stanley cup win. If you saw the partying this weekend, its as though they wanted to share the stanley cup with every person in that town. The parade is heading down constitution avenue for a massive rally. At least 300,000 people are expected to attend. Later today the Golden State Warriors will celebrate their championship with parade in oakland, california. I know my kids are going o be super stokes about both. Thank you for watching this hour of velshi ruhle. Ill see you ting at 9 00 a. M. Eastern where i will be there in our nations capi l capitol. I hand you off to Andrea Mitchell who has been working nonstop for the last 72 hours. Shes live in singapore. Thank you so much. What a 72 hours its been right now on a special edition of Andrea Mitchell reports. Whats the deal . President trump and kim jongun sign an agreement calling for denuclearization of north korea but now plan on how to do it. Ending joint mitary exercises with south korea or what the president called c eed war game. Its a very provocative situation. I think its inappropriate to be having war gam number one we save money, a lot. Number two, it really is something that i think they very much appreciated. Pomp and circumstance with american and north korean flags waving side by side. The two leaders shared lots of hand shshakes and back slaps bee signing an agreement with one of the most repressive regimes in the world, something the president would not do with americas closest allies. Great personality and smart. Good combination. Were proud of what took place and we developed a special bond. People w v