Kim is so fucking cagey. Step 1: Be all smiley and fun and positive, and agree to everything. Step 2: Wait until foreign leaders start taking their celebratory laps and patting each other on the back. Step 3: Cancel everything and take a step back. NOW who owns the conversation, motherfuckers? NOW who holds the reins? NOW who is going to ask for everything AND the kitchen sink, and get it? Trump (et al) outmaneuvered yet again.
There was a talking head (voice?) on NPR this morning, who said that it's not just a "return to form," but that this also was a response to the U.S. taking such a one-sided posture. That always seems to be Trump's strategy, thanks to his small hands.
That was a quick turn around. I've read elsewhere they've just suspended them. Not altogether surprising, it was going far too smoothly!
By agreeing to meet with North Korea directly, the United States gave North Korea the standing of a nation-state rather than a rogue nation. By elevating North Korea to a nation-state, the United States gave North Korea the opportunity to increase its global standing further by snubbing the United States. Prior to Trump, we didn't so much as acknowledge North Korea let alone offer to meet with them. Now? Now North Korea is too prestigious to meet with us.