, Columnist
North Korea Talks: Here's What a Pragmatist Could Hope For
One theory is that diplomacy leads to bureaucracy, which leads to stability.
Hanging out with Dennis Rodman isn't the worst thing Kim Jong Un could do with his time.
Source: Kyodo News, via Getty ImagesIt's been confirmed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo held direct talks with Kim Jong Un in North Korea, and negotiations between Kim and President Donald Trump really do seem in the offing, so we need to ask how such negotiations might actually succeed.
There are indeed reasons to be optimistic, but not because I see high odds of striking a workable deal with the North Korean totalitarian regime to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Instead, the best realistic scenarios would have the North Korean leaders deciding to carve out a more normal existence for their nation. Talks can help create or hasten that outcome.