Is Trump playing North Korea over summit itinerary?

U.S. President Donald Trump on his way to Texas. / Reuters

By Oh Young-jin

U.S. President Donald Trump takes pride in his ability to keep the other party guessing before negotiating a better deal.

Now Trump appears applying his strong suit to North Korea, or he may getting smarter about the North.

After the April 27 inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom truce village, Trump talked about his summit with Kim taking place in three or four weeks _ meaning an early meeting. At first, it was said to be held in late May and early June.

Then Trump twice talked in public about the place and time of the summit being fixed but did not reveal either. Trump also said he liked Panmunjeom as the venue, adding to the urgency of the summit.

Singapore likely venue for Trump-Kim summit: sources 2018-05-07 16:16  |  North Korea
Then the White House announced that Moon would visit Washington for talks with Trump on May 22.

So it is logical that the Trump-Kim meeting will be held after that. The early summit is almost out of the picture.

Reports say the summit will be delayed to mid-June after the G-7 summit in Canada on June 6-8, with Singapore being mentioned as the likely venue.

At first glance, this appears to be an elaborate effort by the U.S. to jockey for a better position ahead of the summit with Kim.

But it is quite possible that Trump has finally started to listen to experts' advice _ U.S. North Korea experts are advising the Trump administration to delay the summit as long as possible, pointing out the need to get the impatient president prepared.

"We should delay it (the summit) until President Trump gets something that comes close to policy," an American specialist said.

If Trump is getting smarter, the North is showing it will not take a step back leading up to the summit.

The North's Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted by its state-controlled media as saying, "It wouldn't help if the U.S. continues to put pressure on and pursues military pursuit against us."

The North's propaganda website also threatened to revive threats against the U.S. if it continues with its policy of putting maximum pressure on the North.