{"id":26948,"date":"2018-06-10T16:36:24","date_gmt":"2018-06-10T16:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/10\/unorthodox-trump-faces-toughest-test-yet-in-north-korea-summit\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:26:13","slug":"unorthodox-trump-faces-toughest-test-yet-in-north-korea-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/10\/unorthodox-trump-faces-toughest-test-yet-in-north-korea-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Unorthodox Trump faces toughest test yet in North Korea summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SINGAPORE \u2014 Embarking on a self-described \u201cmission of peace,\u201d President Donald Trump\u2019s seat-of-the-pants foreign policy is facing its toughest test yet as he attempts this week to personally broker an end to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/22\/trump-says-north-korea-agreed-to-denuclearize-it-hasnt\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">North Korea\u2019s nuclear program<\/a> in talks with Kim Jong Un.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The impulsive American president, who just this weekend sowed chaos within the Western alliance, is set to face his match on the global stage as he prepares to meet Kim in Singapore on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the historic first meeting between the leaders of the technically-still-warring nations, Trump is prioritizing instinct over planning. Unlike traditional summits between heads of state, where most of the work is completed in advance, U.S. officials say the only thing certain ahead of these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/03\/mattis-warns-of-bumpy-road-to-us-north-korea-nuclear-summit\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">talks will be their unpredictability<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/22\/road-to-north-koreas-denuclearization-is-littered-with-failure\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"176\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18111355411423.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Road to North Korea\u2019s denuclearization is littered with failure<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">While Seoul and Washington welcomed Pyongyang\u2019s declaration on Saturday to suspend further intercontinental ballistic missile tests and shut down its nuclear test site, the past is littered with failure.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ever since Trump shocked allies, White House officials and, by some accounts, the North Koreans themselves when he accepted Kim\u2019s March invitation for a meeting, the two leaders have lurched toward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/03\/trump-north-koreas-kim-back-on-for-summit\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">an uncertain encounter<\/a> that could affect millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s unknown territory in the truest sense, but I really feel confident,\u201d Trump told reporters Saturday. \u201cI feel that Kim Jong Un wants to do something great for his people and he has that opportunity and he won\u2019t have that opportunity again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump landed in Singapore on Sunday evening, about four hours after Kim arrived in the island city-state. The two are scheduled to meet for the first time Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18161175399091.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26685\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18161175399091.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18161175399091.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18161175399091.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A police officer guards the entrance of the international media center Sunday, June 10, 2018, in Singapore ahead of the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12. (Wong Maye-E\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s engagement with Kim fulfills the North Korean ruling family\u2019s long-unrequited yearning for international legitimacy, itself a substantial concession after more than a generation of U.S. efforts to isolate the country on the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s never been done before,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd obviously, what has been done before hasn\u2019t worked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A triumvirate of forces is bringing the meeting to fruition, said Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea Studies and director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He describes the summit as \u201cproduced by Kim, directed by (South Korean President Moon Jae-in), and inspired by Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/24\/heres-the-challenge-coin-for-the-north-korea-us-summit-that-never-was\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"151\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coin.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Here\u2019s the challenge coin for the North Korea-US summit that never was<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The trip began to unravel after the US suggested North Korea de-nuclearization could follow a model leading to the ouster of the North Korean leader.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each man has his motivations: Hard-hitting sanctions and a desire for legitimacy brought Kim to the table. Moon\u2019s efforts to avert a potentially catastrophic U.S. first strike pushed Trump and Kim to take a risk. And Trump is the first U.S. president willing to sit-down with Kim with so few concessions, believing his self-professed negotiating prowess will guide him though uncharted diplomatic waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raising expectations in advance of the meeting, Trump said the outcome will depend heavily on his own instincts. The U.S. president said he will know \u201cwithin the first minute\u201d of meeting Kim whether the North Korean leader is serious about nuclear negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think I\u2019ll know pretty quickly whether or not, in my opinion, something positive will happen. And if I think it won\u2019t happen, I\u2019m not going to waste my time. I don\u2019t want to waste his time,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a leader who really is an unknown personality,\u201d Trump added of Kim. \u201cPeople don\u2019t know much about him. I think that he\u2019s going to surprise on the upside, very much on the upside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18160528378223.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18160528378223.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18160528378223.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18160528378223.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the G-7 summit, Saturday, June 9, 2018,  in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada.  (Evan Vucci\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White House aides described Trump in the days after receiving the initial Kim invitation as being obsessed by visions of winning the Nobel Peace Prize and of using the skills he laid out in his book \u201cThe Art of the Deal\u201d to put his mark on the global order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent weeks, though, Trump\u2019s enthusiasm has been tempered somewhat by the challenge of deal-making with such an unpredictable opponent. And there are worries from the White House to East Asian allies that Trump\u2019s desire for an agreement will lead him to accept any deal \u2014 even if it\u2019s a bad one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump is dangling before Kim visions of protection, economic investment and even a White House visit, in return for a commitment to abandon his nuclear weapons program. Kim, U.S. officials say, has agreed to put his stockpile of 50 or more weapons on the table for negotiation, but the two countries have offered differing visions of what that would entail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite Kim\u2019s apparent eagerness for a summit with Trump, there are doubts that he would fully relinquish his nuclear arsenal, which he may see as the guarantor of his survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. defense and intelligence officials have assessed the North to be on the threshold of having the capability to strike anywhere in the continental U.S. with a nuclear-tipped missile \u2014 a capacity that Trump and other U.S. officials have said they would not tolerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/22\/pentagon-report-nukes-are-central-to-north-korea-strategy\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18142653786714.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Pentagon report: Nukes are central to North Korea strategy<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A Pentagon report to Congress says North Korea sees nuclear weapons as central to its security, an assessment that would seem to complicate President Donald Trump\u2019s effort to persuade the North\u2019s dictator, Kim Jong Un, to give them up.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump reiterated his promise Saturday that the U.S. \u201cwill watch over and we\u2019ll protect\u201d Kim and his government in return for him giving up the nuclear program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With his Singapore summit, Trump is looking to temporarily escape his flaring personal conflicts with key U.S. allies over trade as well as domestic pressure like the swirling Russia probe. Acutely aware of his coverage in the media, Trump has enjoyed how the impending North Korea summit has overshadowed some of the more negative coverage of his tumultuous White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, Trump\u2019s team has not always been on the same page, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo \u2014 who has been leading the administration\u2019s efforts \u2014 more supportive, while the hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton has been more skeptical. Bolton has been far less visible in the planning process, after a comment he made about favoring the \u201cLibya model\u201d for denuclearization enraged the North Koreans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Libya gave up its nuclear program at an early stage only to see its longtime dictator overthrown and killed less than a decade later.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/16\/analysis-ahead-of-summit-north-korea-lobs-barbs-at-bolton\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"223\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18136265319802.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Analysis: Ahead of summit, North Korea lobs barbs at Bolton<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">North Korea has a message for U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of next month\u2019s summit: Don\u2019t listen to your new hard-line national security adviser, John Bolton.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">En route to Singapore, Trump left behind a trail of diplomatic wreckage as he exited the annual Group of Seven summit Saturday in Quebec, highlighting the extent to which he increasingly keeps his own counsel, eschewing the cautionary advice of aides and confident in his ability to single-handedly attempt to redraw the global order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Canada, the U.S. president threatened longtime allies over trade practices at a defiant exit press conference before abruptly withdrawing his endorsement of the group\u2019s final joint statement and tweeting that host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was \u201cweak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHis message from Quebec to Singapore is that he is going to meld the industrial democracies to his will \u2014 and bring back Russia,\u201d said Steve Bannon, Trump\u2019s former campaign and White House adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Lucey reported from Souda Bay, Greece.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embarking on a self-described \u201cmission of peace,\u201d President Donald Trump\u2019s seat-of-the-pants foreign policy is facing its toughest test yet as he attempts this week to personally broker an end to North Korea\u2019s nuclear program in talks with Kim Jong Un.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":10,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"5":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"6":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"7":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"}}},"categories":[10,15,86],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1259,2967],"class_list":["post-26948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"7VR4T72SQFDDRFLLRXSKBEYR5I","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/10\/unorthodox-trump-faces-toughest-test-yet-in-north-korea-summit\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Unorthodox Trump faces toughest test yet in North Korea summit - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Embarking on a self-described \u201cmission of peace,\u201d President Donald Trump\u2019s seat-of-the-pants foreign policy is facing its toughest test yet as he attempts this week to personally broker an end to North Korea\u2019s nuclear program in talks with Kim Jong Un.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unorthodox Trump faces toughest test yet in North Korea summit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Embarking on a self-described \u201cmission of peace,\u201d President Donald Trump\u2019s seat-of-the-pants foreign policy is facing its toughest test yet as he attempts this week to personally broker an end to North Korea\u2019s nuclear program in talks with Kim Jong Un.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/10\/unorthodox-trump-faces-toughest-test-yet-in-north-korea-summit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-10T16:36:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T05:26:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zeke Miller, The Associated Press, Catherine Lucey, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zeke Miller, The Associated Press, Catherine Lucey, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/10\\\/unorthodox-trump-faces-toughest-test-yet-in-north-korea-summit\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/10\\\/unorthodox-trump-faces-toughest-test-yet-in-north-korea-summit\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t         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