Slim chance of Trump-Kim meet

First, the sandpaper-tongue US president called him a “smart cookie.” Then Trump says he is open to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if conditions allow. Although Trump has made many policy U-turns, this is a classic one and steeped into irony. “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump said. “If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.”
What makes it the most stunning volte-face is that Trump vowed in January that he wouldn’t let North Korea develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the US and Secretary of States emphatically said Washington was keeping all options open on the table if diplomacy fails to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Trump dispatched aircraft carrier group and a submarine to the region amid worsening situations on Korean peninsula. Trump administration emphasized the use of economic sanctions and diplomacy to persuade North Korea to curtail its nuclear program. North Korea calls American military moves in the region as acts of “intimidation and blackmail.”
Given the prevailing hostile situation, the meeting between Trump and Kim seems to be the most unlikely affair. Trump has conditioned his meeting with Korean leader on the right circumstances, which appear to be most improbable as Pyongyang continues to test missiles and the next nuclear test is just a matter of time. White House press secretary Sean Spicer has rejected any chance of meeting saying “clearly conditions are not there right now.” He said “we’ve got to see their provocative behavior ratcheted down.”
North Korea has become the most urgent national security threat and foreign policy issue for Trump administration as it is believed Pyongyang is on course to develop a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland as soon as 2020. Trump is trying both military pressure and diplomacy to contain Kim regime’s nuclear ambitions. Over more than two decades, food aid and UN sanctions have all failed to deter the Kim dynasty’s quest for a nuclear arsenal. So the Trump administration is encouraging China, North Korea’s neighbor and top trading partner, to exert pressure on the regime.
North Korea walked out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as it was found violating the denuclearization commitments it made, and has continued to pursue its nuclear program. Kim’s intent to develop nuclear capabilities mars any chance for right conditions Trump is looking for to hold a meeting with Korean leader. Even if the conditions were right, a meeting would be unlikely as Kim has not met any major world leader since taking charge after his father’s death in late 2011 and hasn’t left his isolated country.
North Korea has said US was “seriously mistaken” if it thought the regime would compromise. The international community seeks to stop North Korea from getting nuclear weapons and denuclearization should be the prerequisite for any future meeting. But it’s almost impossible to imagine North Korea meeting the conditions that would allow such a meeting to occur.