There’s a clear line here: Bolton’s Libya talk sets expectations for Trump, who slips up and threatens North Korea with regime change, which leads to Pence defending Trump, which leads to North Korea lashing out, which leads to Trump canceling the summit. The dysfunction within this administration in the lead-up to this meeting ultimately brought the summit crashing down.

The North Koreans, in the meantime, have kept their position static and have been more than willing to communicate what they were willing to offer up; not once did any authoritative North Korean statement indicate any interest in denuclearization as the White House imagined it.