Trump and North Korea

American President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the dear leader of North Korea, are meeting today in Singapore. The world has been eagerly waiting for this meeting. Well, looking forward, more like. It’s an unusual event that has come to pass in an unusual fashion. Kim tested a nuclear missile, threatened America, Trump tweeted that he has a bigger nuclear button, and next thing you know Kim was getting pally with South Korea, then another round of playing hard to get, and now he’s in Singapore to meet Trump. While the American President looks to dial things down to the safety of the status quo – remember when North Korea issued threats to America with the regularity that you and I threaten to get back in shape starting next week -, Kim Jong Un is said to be looking for legitimate recognition as a leader on the word stage. No more Dennis Rodman, pop culture approval from common folks, Kim wants to be a world leader.

The historic meeting between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader comes in the wake of a, to put it mildly, disappointing G7 summit for Trump. Kim and Trump are meeting in Singapore to lay the groundwork, or at least try to, for a reshaping of the security environment in Asia. Whether the talks are just talk or will have some substance is a question that will be answered only a little later.

Trump has said he hopes to win a legacy-making deal with the North to give up their nuclear weapons. Complete denuclearization or something close to that. Tall ask? No pressure for Trump though. He tempered expectations stating that this meeting is more of a get-to-know-each-other session than anything else, and that these topics will take more than a single meeting to get to a final decision. He then claimed it will take him one minute to figure out if Kim Jong Un is serious about peace.