Over two months since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has been remarkably slow in naming candidates for key roles in his administration: of 553 key positions requiring Senate confirmation, as of Thursday just 21 positions had been confirmed, with hundreds of nomination selections still pending.

But while much ink has been spilled on the impact of this delay on broader areas such as defense and the economy, the specific consequences of this as far as North Korea policy could be concerned are becoming increasingly important.