The meeting between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to go ahead, with the former saying a date and location were set, though they have not yet been announced. Trump has been playing up his own meeting with Kim, though it is admittedly a big deal. What he is not seeing, or simply wants to downplay, is that his meeting with Kim will do much to legitimise the Pyongyang regime. This is the reason Trump’s predecessors all the way back to Dwight Eisenhower shunned such a meeting. But, driven by ego and desperate to earn credentials as a serious world leader, Trump is rushing forward and in his myopia helping give the reclusive regime legitimacy while receiving nothing tangible in return.

Source: The Nation Bangkok May 08, 2018 18:00 UTC