The creators of North Korea’s nuclear and missile forces are the country’s true elite, celebrated as the heroes who keep America at bay. When Mr. Trump sent one of his deputy national security advisers to Singapore a week ago for a prearranged meeting to work out meeting logistics, the North Koreans stood him up. To the North Koreans, Mr. Bolton knew, the Libya example was shorthand for making a bad decision to unilaterally disarm. None of this means the initiatives with North Korea are entirely dead. Mr. Trump carefully left open the door for Mr. Kim to “call me or write” if he decides to cease the threats of nuclear exchanges and wants to reschedule the summit meeting.

Source: New York Times May 24, 2018 21:22 UTC