Trump and North Korea

Some experts believe that North Korea may be open to engaging with Mr. Trump, who during the campaign said he was willing to meet the regime’s leader, Kim Jong-un. There’s no underestimating the difficulty of finding an effective strategy, given that negotiations, sanctions and isolation have all been tried since the North’s nuclear weapons program was first confirmed in 1993.

The most successful negotiation, under President Clinton, led to the 1994 framework that froze the North’s plutonium program for nearly a decade. But the Bush administration hated the deal and successfully undermined it. Mr. Obama focused on toughening sanctions. That had limited effect because China refused to end trade; an announcement that Beijing would suspend coal imports from North Korea until the end of the year could portend a breakthrough if it follows through.

Mr. Trump fancies himself a dealmaker. If he takes the time to consult the experts and approach the issue with discipline, he might have a chance at a negotiated solution in which the North could be offered the lifting of sanctions, economic assistance and a permanent peace treaty. Ending the North’s nuclear program needs to be the goal, but realistically what’s attainable is a freeze on nuclear fuel production and missile and nuclear testing. Time is not on Mr. Trump’s side.