On the back of a disastrous weekend visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang (the North Koreans spent the visit insulting Pompeo in their state media outlets), it is clear that negotiations towards dismantling Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are failing.
They are failing because North Korea believes it can extract concessions without regard for U.S. interests. Correspondingly, getting real doesn’t simply require the president to get tougher on the North Koreans, it demands his recognition of what the North Koreans view as their key interests and key vulnerabilities. Trump seems oblivious to this reality. Tweeting on Monday, Trump suggested that Kim will give up his programs because the two leaders … shook hands.
