President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un are planning to meet to discuss denuclearization.

Syracuse University national security expert Bill Smullen says this would be the first time a sitting U.S. president has met with a North Korean leader. He thinks the decision to meet sends a positive message, and right now he's "cautiously optimistic."

He says if he had to guess why Kim Jong Un has agreed to meet, it'd be due to economic sanctions. And he says Kim may think that meeting with the president will give him more legitimacy.

Smullen says there are risks and rewards to measure.

"What's the reward going to possibly be? That he will stop his nuclear program," Smullen said. "What are the risks? The risks are that he's going to deceive the president by saying that he's going to do something and not follow through on that."

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A time and place for the talks is still being discussed. President Trump tweeted that the sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached.