Madeleine Albright says she's anxious about Trump-Kim summit

Former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albrightsays the lack of U.S. diplomats at the State Department who know North Korea has herworried about President Donald Trump's planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"This is a very complicated issue that requires people with background and information and diplomatic skill to deal with them," Albright said in an interview withhostVassyKapelosonCBC News Network'sPower & Politics Thursday.

"WhatI'm worried about, frankly, is that we don't have a lot of diplomats at the moment that have expertise on North Korea.

"I'm very glad that this has come to talks rather than the use of force, but I am concerned about how these talks are going to be carried out."

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Canada-U.S. relationship

6 years ago

Duration 11:50

'Every agreement needs a little fixing, but the relationship with Canada works extremely well,' says Albright.

Albrightsaid the Trump administration has not approached her for advice as it prepares for what will be the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Koreanleader.

In 2000,Albrightbecame the first senior U.S. official to meet with a North Korean leader when she sat down with KimJong-un'sfatherKimJong-ilin an effort to rein in the regime's ballistic missile program. Progress made duringAlbright'stenure wasultimately cut short when PresidentGeorge W. Bush took office in 2001.

According to South Korea, North Korea has said it is open to discussing the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but it remains unclear what exactly the reclusive regime wants in exchange.

Beyond international recognition and a sense of security,Albright said it's hard to know what the regime is after.

AlbrightjoinedPower & Politicsto discuss her new book Fascism: A Warning,in which she tracks the 20thcentury rise of fascist regimes and what she sees as troubling signs the deadly ideology is re-emerging in the 21stcentury.