A SETBACK? – AT 10:47 P.M. ET:  There has been a sudden change in events leading to the planned June summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.  From the New York Post:   

North Korea said on Tuesday that they will back out of a scheduled summit with President Trump if the US insists on denuclearization in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

That is the heart of our position.

The top diplomat for the nuclear-armed North said they will reconsider the summit and that Trump will “remain a failed leader” if he follows the path of past presidents.

The announcement came after the North nixed a high-level summit with South Korea, citing joint US-South Korean military drills off the peninsula.

The scheduled June 12 summit in Singapore would be the first meeting between a serving US president and a North Korean leader.

The meeting was expected to be a major diplomatic achievement for President Trump.

COMMENT:  Obviously, an unexpected jolt.  Things seemed to  be going smoothly.  It is too early to tell whether the North Korean position is fatal to the summit, or simply the start of a negotiating position.

It is also too early to tell whether North Korea is under pressure from China to be tougher on the Americans, or, indeed, under pressure from Iran, with which it has a close relationship. 

It's possible the summit will be cancelled, or delayed.  The left media will immediately declare that a defeat for President Trump, and declare it jubilantly, but the president will know how to turn that around and show that he will not be rolled by the Norks, or any of its friends in the peanut gallery.

I'm sure Secretary Pompeo, who recently met with Kim Jong Un, is on the case.

May 15, 2018