Sanders said that unless the North demonstrated that they were serious about potentially getting rid of their nuclear weapons, a meeting would not take place.

But Trump seemed to have already committed to the meeting, and Shah defended Trump’s decision on Sunday.

“He’s stated his commitment to denuclearization to South Korea’s delegation,” Shah said. “We think Kim Jong Un is the only partner in North Korea who has any authority that can make any decision. So, he’s the only voice. He’s stated a commitment to denuclearization to South Korea, they’ve relayed that us, so we’re open to this invitation.”

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on NBC’S “Meet the Press” that the US would keep imposing heavy economic sanctions on North Korea ahead of the summit.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo said the US would also continue its military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, but that he expected Pyongyang to halt its nuclear and missile testing.

Trump didn’t announce the meeting “for theater,” Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday,” but to solve a problem.

“Never before have we had the North Koreans in a position where their economy was at such risk, where their leadership was under such pressure that they would begin conversations on the terms that Kim Jong Un has conceded to at this point,” he said.