If Trump rekindles bromance, Kim has other suitors

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

48% : Bloomington native to lead B-N Convention and Visitors Bureau Check out the top seeds for the McLean County/HOIC Tournaments 3 from Bloomington die in deadliest U.S. theater fireDuring his first term, Trump was able to push for personal engagement with North Korea's head of state despite resistance among his national security advisers.
43% : This was partly because his other options -- more economic sanctions or military action -- ranged from ineffective to disastrous, and partly because the South Korean president at the time, Moon Jae-in, was able to convince Trump that a direct channel of communication to Kim might be the key to cementing a nuclear deal of historic importance.
42% : After nearly a year of fire-breathing rhetoric, Trump opted to gamble on direct diplomacy.
39% : Yet if Trump wants a second roll of the dice, he needs a healthy dose of skepticism.
36% : In the end, Trump and Kim, their personal chemistry notwithstanding, were unable to come to terms -- Trump, pushed by his hawkish advisors, advocated for North Korea's complete denuclearization; Kim, meanwhile, was only willing to demobilize his main plutonium research facility at Yongbyon.
29% : Yet for Trump, all of these items may be minor when compared with resolving the North Korea nuclear conundrum.
29% : As long as the Russia-North Korea relationship continues, Trump will be hard pressed to bring the North Koreans back to the negotiating table.
26% : While Trump managed to get North Korea to suspend missile tests for a year -- no small accomplishment given its past activity -- the flashy summitry ultimately crashed and burned.
25% : None of this is to suggest that Trump shouldn't try another diplomatic foray with North Korea.
18% : If Trump enters office thinking he can easily resurrect his relationship with Kim, then he's going to be disappointed.

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