A recent article cited the U.S. Secretary of State during a meeting with a special presidential envoy from South Korea in Washington on May 18 as urging North Korea to trust the administration in its promise of no hostility. Tillerson stated that the U.S. does not seek a change of the Pyongyang regime, has no plans to invade North Korea, and that Washington would guarantee the existence of the current system in North Korea.

Even if Kim were inclined to trust the current U.S. administration – a stretch of the imagination in the first place, given how often U.S. President Trump has changed his mind on one thing or another – what about succeeding presidents?