U.S. President Donald Trump's eye for television spectacle paid off on Sunday when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. Trump made history by crossing briefly into North Korea to become the first sitting U.S. president to visit the state. That foray was followed by nearly an hour of talks that concluded with agreement to resume negotiations over the North's nuclear weapons program.
For all the excitement, the theater was predictable. And while history was being made, an old danger persists: Trump's hunger for a deal will result in the legitimation of North Korea's nuclear program. Nothing is more threatening to regional peace and stability.
Trump wants the world to think that a tweet asking Kim to join him for a handshake prompted the meeting. It is hard to believe that the idea just occurred to Trump — the two men exchanged letters a few weeks ago — or that the schedules of national leaders can be coordinated that quickly. Kim made the trip, however, greeting Trump at the DMZ and he escorted the U.S. president a few steps into North Korea, where they posed for pictures and then returned to South Korean territory.