Will Trump’s visit to North Korea lead to a nuclear deal?
Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea this week. But will anything come of it?

North Korean state media have hailed President Donald Trump's "impromptu visit" to the country on Sunday as an "amazing event", reports the BBC. Trump, who became the first sitting US president to set foot in the country, travelled to South Korea following the G20 summit in Japan, and on Saturday tweeted a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, suggesting a meeting at the border. Kim accepted.
As Trump "revelled" in his "historic" stroll, administration officials were "at odds" over what demands to make of Kim Jong-un as they prepared to restart negotiations on a nuclear deal, says Edward Wong in The New York Times. National security adviser, John Bolton, a "prominent hawk", "reacted angrily" to a report about the possibility of an incremental approach, which would initially just ask for a freeze on nuclear activity.
However, negotiations stalled after a failed February summit at which Trump insisted that Kim give up his entire nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump has given Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responsibility for restarting negotiations and officials are considering allowing "more robust humanitarian aid" or some "limited economic exchanges between the North and South" in return for a freeze on Kim's nuclear programme. Note, however, that South Korean president Moon Jae-in has been struggling to hold the North to its "most basic commitments" since his meeting with Kim in April 2018, says Andrew Jeong in The Wall Street Journal. This doesn't bode well for "loftier promises".
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Trump's methods are "unorthodox", but since he remains "subject to the checks and balances of the US system", he is able to make "big gestures that might engineer a diplomatic breakthrough", says The Daily Telegraph. Sometimes, "force of personality and a willingness to take a risk pays off."
Sign up for MoneyWeek's newsletters
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Emily has worked as a journalist for more than thirty years and was formerly Assistant Editor of MoneyWeek, which she helped launch in 2000. Prior to this, she was Deputy Features Editor of The Times and a Commissioning Editor for The Independent on Sunday and The Daily Telegraph. She has written for most of the national newspapers including The Times, the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, The Evening Standard and The Daily Mail, She interviewed celebrities weekly for The Sunday Telegraph and wrote a regular column for The Evening Standard. As Political Editor of MoneyWeek, Emily has covered subjects from Brexit to the Gaza war.
Aside from her writing, Emily trained as Nutritional Therapist following her son's diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes in 2011 and now works as a practitioner for Nature Doc, offering one-to-one consultations and running workshops in Oxfordshire.
-
The MoneyWeek Readers' Choice Awards 2025
MoneyWeek Awards The MoneyWeek Readers' Choice Awards celebrate the products and services that help you make, keep and spend your money. Find out more about this year's awards.
By MoneyWeek Published
-
8 of the best houses for sale with home cinemas
Houses for sale with home cinemas – from a modern oast-house style property in Kent to a house in Buckinghamshire with Dolby sound and bespoke seating
By Natasha Langan Published