How Trump can keep from getting swindled by Kim Jong Un

7 things the president must do before his high-stakes summit with the North Korean dictator

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
(Image credit: ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images)

What a difference a few months makes. Back at the end of 2017, it looked like the United States and North Korea were on a collision course for war. Then Kim Jong Un swerved.

The North Korean leader has finally decided to try diplomacy. Thanks to a combination of external sanctions pressure, the fear of a military strike by the U.S., and the North's ability to relegate its nuclear and missile research to the lab, Kim has opted to return to a time-tested playbook: the offering of an old-school great power summit to end this nuclear standoff once and for all.

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Harry J. Kazianis

Harry J. Kazianis is director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, founded by former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon.