America 'Blew the Opportunity' to Denuclearize North Korea

As South Korea’s national-security adviser told it on Thursday, Donald Trump will meet with Kim Jong Un this spring for one purpose only: to achieve the “permanent denuclearization” of North Korea. But according to one of the U.S. officials who came closest to striking that kind of deal, the president better lower his expectations. By a lot.

Kim seems willing to talk because his nuclear-weapons program is now —on the cusp of boasting nuclear-tipped long-range missiles that can reach the United States, dozens of bombs and a diffuse and diverse arsenal—that he believes he can deter