What an embassy in Pyongyang could mean for the U.S.

What they're saying:

• Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper writes in his new memoir that the North Korean regime "survives because it fosters isolation" and that its citizens are skeptical of America.
• Over time, a U.S. embassy based in Pyongyang "would provide U.S. spy agencies with new insights into a notoriously hard intelligence target and also give North Koreans direct access to America, a country demonized by the dictatorship," Lake writes.
• Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, disagrees. Scarlatoiu tells Lake it's "wishful thinking" to presume that America would be allowed to collect insights on a regime that largely operates a vast network of informants.

"I don't think European diplomats in Pyongyang have a chance to look at the real North Korea because they are under heavy surveillance and their movements are so restricted. Why would we expect something different for American diplomats?"

Be smart: President Trump had said he's keeping all options on the table ahead of his meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore. However, Trump has also attempted to dial back expectations, and has cautioned that normalizing relations between the two countries will take several meetings to achieve, if possible. The summit is purely the beginning of that process, he emphasized.