Singapore summit success may prompt defense spending issue

President Donald Trump says the Singapore summit put North Korea on a path to eliminating its nuclear weapons. But if that turns out to be true, it could poke a hole in the Pentagon's main argument for a multibillion-dollar expansion of missile defence.

Trump said after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that there was no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.

His own administration later contradicted him by saying the threat remains. But if Kim does disarm, then Congress may see less logic to spending $6 billion or more to expand a missile defense system based in Alaska that is designed mainly with North Korea in mind.

The system is among the most expensive and is due to expand over the next five years.