clearly we have got to talk to north korea. it s much better than the alternative. president trump s maximum pressure campaign. largely responsible for getting the north koreans here. if we have to have our flag next to theirs as we talk to them, so be it. the important point here right now is that president trump is talking about a relationship with the north koreans. that is going to scare the chinese and the russians as well because it means that we can then have one more friend in asia, and china will have one less friend. by the way, that one less friend, north korea, is china s only formal ally. this undercuts the narrative of china being the global hegemon, u.s. in terminal decline, that the chinese will rule east asia, all of that goes out the window in one summit. if you have to have the the amn flag next to the north korean one, it s a small price to pay. laura: that is a boneheaded