The Uninvited Summiteers

It would be more accurate to describe the one-on-one summit President Trump will begin shortly with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un as a three-on-one meeting – even though two of those who will profoundly influence its outcome won’t be present.

As a practical matter, Mr. Trump is negotiating not just with the North Korean despot.  Clearly, Kim is the puppet of Chinese president Xi Jinping. He’s also the beneficiary of the assiduous support of South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in.

Thanks to these two interested parties’ serial violations of economic sanctions on North Korea, Kim Jong-un is significantly less susceptible to U.S. pressure to denuclearize. Worse yet, South Korea’s pursuit of a separate peace with its northern neighbor dramatically undercuts Mr. Trump as it encourages Kim to believe he’ll secure his goal of reunification on the North’s terms without having to disarm.