President Donald Trump agreed Thursday to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un by May to discuss denuclearization — but "the most important thing for President Trump right now is not to stop the pressure," author Gordon Chang said.
"I'm surprised by this whole thing," Chang, an expert on North Korea, told Erin Burnett on CNN. "But the one thing that is not surprising is that the North Koreans are not going to test that much more."
Trump said he was willing to meet with Kim as part of an effort to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions, South Korea's National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong said outside the White House.
Chang told Burnett that the sanctions from both the Trump administration and the United Nations have been crippling Pyongyang.
"There are reports that ... the Kim family slush fund is low on funds," he said. "It's low on funds because of the accelerated testing of missiles last year.
"They don't have the money because President Trump's and the U.N. sanctions are really starting to bite.
"We have a lot of anecdotal evidence.
"We can't stop," he continued, echoing the South Korean national security adviser. "We actually need to put more on.
"The North Koreans will eventually give up nukes, if they have no other choice," Chang said. "They are not there yet — but we can push them there in about six months."