North Korea Has No Reason to Talk to Trump

We are all now living with the consequences of his failed pseudo-engagement policy.

The president wants to meet Kim Jong-un, but the North Koreans appear to have no interest:

U.S. President Donald Trump made repeated invitations to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he prepared to visit South Korea this week, with officials in Seoul serving as his cheerleaders.

Publicly, there has been radio silence from the North so far and American and South Korean officials have said there are no concrete preparations underway.

The U.S. should be trying to revive diplomatic talks with North Korea, but it is doubtful that North Korea will come back to the table. That is almost entirely the president’s fault. Once Trump botched the negotiations in his first term, Kim had no incentive to deal with him again. There was a brief window during Moon’s presidency when there was a real possibility of reaching a modest, limited agreement with North Korea, but Trump and his hardliners squandered that chance when they insisted on full disarmament. We are all now living with the consequences of his failed pseudo-engagement policy.