America must tread carefully with North Korea's calculating regime. The Trump administration is sizing up different scenarios for another Trump-Kim meeting, yet Pyongyang's core strategy remains unchanged — exploit Trump's transactional nature and appetite for spectacle to secure concessions while offering minimal substance in return. Kim's nuclear arsenal gives him leverage to demand recognition as a nuclear power.
America cannot abandon North Korea to Russia's embrace. Four years of silence have transformed Kim into Putin's arsenal supplier, threatening global stability. Despite nuclear defiance, history proves engagement yields results — reducing provocations and opening dialogue. President Trump's unique rapport with Kim offers America's best chance to pull Pyongyang from Moscow's orbit before it's permanently lost to an authoritarian alliance.