The administration needs to face up to the reality that North Korean disarmament isn’t happening.
Trump and Kim will meet next week in Hanoi for their second summit, and it appears that the administration still doesn’t understand that North Korean disarmament isn’t going to happen:
North Korea isn’t going to give up its arsenal, and it is very unlikely to make any concessions if the administration insists on a “rapid” pace. The administration needs to face up to the reality that North Korean disarmament isn’t happening. If it doesn’t, it will waste its opportunity to negotiate with North Korea on more limited, achievable goals of capping and possibly reducing their arsenal. Unfortunately, because Bolton is dead-set against anything short of North Korea’s capitulation it is not very likely that the administration will settle for a modest arms control agreement.
