Don't let expectations for talks get carried away

The White House has confirmed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo met with Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong-un to discuss with him the planned summit with US President Donald Trump. Since Pompeo is Trump's trusted pick to head the State Department, the meeting is an assuring sign that both parties are serious about making the summit happen.

And if the summit does take place, goes well, and maybe even proves fruitful, that would be an encouraging first step toward a scenario in which all stakeholders would be winners. And one in which denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula turns from rhetoric to specific, verifiable, and irreversible moves.

Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in has demonstrated a strong personal interest in a thaw in inter-Korean relations, and this has been matched by Kim. Thus next week's planned meeting will likely go ahead smoothly, and culminate in them expressing a shared interest in officially ending hostilities. A successful Moon-Kim summit will certainly make a Trump-Kim one more probable.