Summary

Following an uptick in public belligerence from the North Korean side, President Trump decided that it was more of a political risk to go ahead with the June 12 summit than to cancel it. Still, in his letter explaining his decision, President Trump left the door wide open for another attempt at summit diplomacy in the future: “I was very much looking forward to being there with you… someday, I look very much to meeting you… if you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write.”

The breakdown of the summit was preordained, the expected result of bluster, unpredictability, wildly divergent expectations of what a final deal should look like, and the fact that, as a piece of political theater the summit was always much more valuable to the North Koreans (which helps to explain why it has not been attempted by any other president).

Yet none of this necessarily means that the idea of a Trump-Kim summit is consigned to historical oblivion. Given its political importance to Kim Jong-un, Moon Jae-in, and President Trump, it stands to reason that the summit will get back on track sometime in the near future.