WINK News Florida Gulf Coast University President Dr. Mike Martin has a personal connection to Tuesday’s (Monday night EST) historic summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. “There’s ego in this; there’s politics in this; there’s security considerations in this,” Dr. Martin said. Dr. Martin was one of eight people selected by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in 2005 for a diplomatic mission to the country where he served as an education expert, sent by then President George W. Bush. The goal was to make inroads in healthcare, energy, and education. Dr. Martin said he thinks the summit will have the ability to bring change, but that it will take some time. “I think it’s going to be a longer process than people wish it to be,” he said. He was able to witness negotiations and immerse himself in North Korean culture while on his trip. “That’s all I am, a curious student,” Dr. Martin said. “I continue to follow it because I had the opportunity to get that short inside look, and I am fascinated by the challenges they face, the circumstance of the times.” Dr. Martin said he’s pleasantly surprised by the upcoming summit more than a decade after his own trip to North Korea. “I thought the deep paranoia that has invested that regime now for more than seven decades would prevent them from ever being able to step out and have this conversation,” Dr. Martin said. “I don’t think it would have happened under the prior two Kims.” Dr. Martin said he doesn’t expect North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons, but did express his hope for the possibility of peace becoming a reality. “I’d like to see us take enough of a pause from the tensions that have occurred in the last year plus, put that aside, and see if we can build on the handful of positive signals between the countries of the region and begin that process of finding us a safer place for us all to live,” Dr. Martin said. Dr. Martin became FGCU’s president in 2017 but was president of New Mexico State University at the time of the mission.