OUT ON A LIMB WITH KIM

TRUMP BANKING POLITICAL FUTURE ON N. KOREA SUMMIT

President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un have put the fiery rhetoric aside for an unprecedented meeting that will test the leader of the free world’s diplomatic mettle as he tries to pry nuclear weapons from the pariah dictatorship nation’s grasp.

Trump and Kim — who have sparred on Twitter and through state-run media — will hold the first head-of-state summit between the two nations since the end of major combat in the Korean War. The meeting will occur in Singapore on June 12.

“We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace,” Trump tweeted yesterday.

Trump, a self-styled deal maker, has said the U.S. is aiming for “denuclearization” of the entire Korean peninsula. He has not yet revealed what the process would be, but experts say Trump needs a firm commitment from Kim in order to declare the summit a success.

“We can’t just have a meeting and then walk away, because then Kim wins and we get nothing,” said Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO. “We need to get a commitment for serious negotiation and engagement that starts the process of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.”

The idea that North Korea would rid itself of its nuclear weaponry without getting something in return is fanciful, according to experts. The isolated nation has a crumbling infrastructure and is in need of aid before it gives up its most intimidating and valuable asset.

“A success likely looks like an exchange, and the question is: What is that exchange going to need to be in order for the talks to be successful?” said David L. Carden, former resident U.S. ambassador to the Association of South East Asian Nations. “I think disarmament for development is one answer to that question, in my view.”

Experts say the actual talks could be dictated by how much preparation goes into the coming weeks. If there are already people on the ground setting the stage for the talks — individuals referred to as “sherpas” to diplomats — the leaders may stick to somewhat-rigid talking points.

But if the groundwork has not been laid out, the conversation