Top U.S. military brass cautiously optimistic on North Korean diplomacy despite claim Kim won't relinquish his nukes

The top U.S. military commander for Asia and the head of American forces in South Korea have both expressed rare cautious optimism on diplomatic progress with North Korea while also reiterating earlier intelligence assessments that the country was unlikely to relinquish its nuclear arsenal.

During spoken testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Philip Davidson, head of the Indo-Pacific Command, lauded "significant progress" made over the past year ahead of a fast-approaching Feb. 27-28 summit in Vietnam between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un.

"I am optimistic about another U.S.-North Korea summit," he said in written testimony, noting some steps the North has taken so far, including what he said was the "reversible" destruction of tunnels at its nuclear testing site in Punggye-ri.