Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta cautioned Thursday that President Donald Trump must undertake "a lot of preparation" in order to "not repeat the mistakes of the past in how we deal with North Korea."
"His primary problem is sticking to talking points and really laying the kind of groundwork that has to be laid for the kind of serious negotiations that are going to take place," Panetta, who served in the Obama White House, told Anderson Cooper on CNN.
"This is a positive step," he added. "The world is breathing a sigh of relief as a result of having these negotiations, even having this kind of meeting.
"All of that is good news.
"But, in order for the United States not to repeat the mistakes of the past in how we deal with North Korea, a lot of preparation has to be done," Panetta warned.
"A lot of issues have to be looked at — and a lot of caution has it to be exercised here it in order to make sure that what is achieved here does not fail the way past efforts have failed."
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