YMB: // " [the joint statement was] rubbished almost universally as devoid of any meaningful content."
In such a short period of time would you expect anything else? I certainly dont and if it has then I would be very suspicious. //
I think the specific point being made is that (a) this statement is nothing that North Korea and the US haven't said before, eg in 1993/4 (and again in 2005, 2007, etc), so it isn't necessarily as ground-breaking as is being made out; and (b) if anything, it's gone backwards, eg calling only for "complete denuclearisation", rather than "complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation", as has been the norm in the past.
I do think it's worth pursuing these talks, and taking them seriously from our end. The consensus, however, seems to be that Trump has given rather a lot more ground than Kim has, which is surprising. If it's a stepping stone towards further progress, then it may be worth it. If it's Kim just buying time, though...
Fingers crossed that Kim's motives are honest, and that Trump is actually as good a judge of character as he thinks he is.