How to use 満足する


A statement by North Korea:

> 話し合いの結果、韓国と意見が合って満足できた。  
>  The result of the discussions was that we agree with the views of South
> Korea and _are satisfied_.

I understand 満足する to mean 'to be satisfied', but I'm struggling to understand
how it works in the potential form, especially in this sentence.

I'm also not really sure what particle to use with 満足する nor how best to
conjugate it. If I want to say "I am satisfied with this" would it be

> それ **で** 満足している。  
>  それ **に** 満足している。

Are they both correct? Do they have different meanings? Why would I use the
potential form?




As far as grammar goes, the sentence _literally_ means:

> As the result of the discussion, we agreed with (the views of) South Korea,
> and we could be satisfied / we were able to be satisfied.

> Why would I use the potential form?

話し合いの結果、韓国と意見が合って満足 **できた** 。  
話し合いの結果、韓国と意見が合って満足 **した** 。

Both are grammatically okay, 満足できた and 満足した both often translate to "we were
satisfied/happy", but I think the former would be preferred in this case since
it can have a nuance of "the result was satisfying", not just stating the fact
that you were satisfied, but that the result was good enough to satisfy you.

> If I want to say "I am satisfied with this" would it be  
>  それ **で** 満足している。  
>  それ **に** 満足している。  
>  Are they both correct?

I think both are correct. I think I'd use the former to say I'm satisfied with
a situation (like "I'm satisfied, with the situation being that"), and the
latter to talk about something more concrete/tangible. I also think that ～
**に** 満足する sounds like you're fully happy with something, while ～ **で** 満足する
might sound like "I (will) settle for that" with a slight nuance of
compromise.




As far as grammar goes, the sentence _literally_ means:

> As the result of the discussion, we agreed with (the views of) South Korea,
> and we could be satisfied / we were able to be satisfied.

> Why would I use the potential form?

話し合いの結果、韓国と意見が合って満足 **できた** 。  
話し合いの結果、韓国と意見が合って満足 **した** 。

Both are grammatically okay, 満足できた and 満足した both often translate to "we were
satisfied/happy", but I think the former would be preferred in this case since
it can have a nuance of "the result was satisfying", not just stating the fact
that you were satisfied, but that the result was good enough to satisfy you.

> If I want to say "I am satisfied with this" would it be  
>  それ **で** 満足している。  
>  それ **に** 満足している。  
>  Are they both correct?

I think both are correct. I think I'd use the former to say I'm satisfied with
a situation (like "I'm satisfied, with the situation being that"), and the
latter to talk about something more concrete/tangible. I also think that ～
**に** 満足する sounds like you're fully happy with something, while ～ **で** 満足する
might sound like "I (will) settle for that" with a slight nuance of
compromise.

