Jimmy Carter briefed by White House on North Korea

Speaking to CBS News' Jane Pauley, the 93 year-old former president said he received a briefing from the current administration.

"I understand what they (North Korea) want and need," Carter told CBS in Georgia earlier this month. "Just this week -- I had a representative from the White House who came down and gave me the latest developments with North Korea."

Carter told Pauley he'd be willing to travel to North Korea on the Trump administration's behalf.

The former president also told his Sunday school class about the briefing, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported recently.

"They came down the day that Kim Jong Un invited Trump to come over. So we had a lot to talk about," he told the class.

Carter also told The New York Times last October that he had discussed the possibility of traveling to North Korea with his friend, national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

"I told him that I was available if they ever need me," he told the Times.

McMaster will be replaced by John Bolton next month.

Carter acknowledged in the interview that he has been critical of President Donald Trump's rhetoric surrounding North Korea.

"I have had some criticisms of some of the public statements that -- that President Trump has made about -- fire and brimstone and that -- sort of thing being utilized," he told CBS, but added that he welcomed Trump's willingness to meet with Kim Jong Un.

The full interview will air Sunday on CBS's "Sunday Morning."