A new Trump-Kim summit would be a nightmare for everyone but Pyongyang

It is clear that US President Donald Trump is pushing hard for a fresh summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the coming months. To achieve that, he appears prepared to downgrade and jeopardise the US-South Korea alliance, as seen in his recent move to scale back joint military exercises.For Trump, this will be a purely bilateral exercise, with both Seoul and Beijing totally sidelined, let alone Moscow and Tokyo. Equally, there is now a general acceptance that the issue of denuclearisation will not be on the table at any future summit. Trump is looking for an outcome that protects US security interests, while Kim’s interests are in de facto recognition as a nuclear weapons state, sanctions relief and investment.