As Trump courts Kim, Pyongyang ups price while Seoul fears being sidelined

Experts warn Trump's transactional approach to alliance will erode political trust

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4999x3434+0+0/resize/4999x3434!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F14%2F82%2Ff2719412495fbee9b796707c1385%2Fgettyimages-2290633220.jpg' alt='People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on August 20, 2026. North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea's military said on August 20, hours after US President Donald Trump said he would meet Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un later this year.'/><p>Experts warn Trump's transactional approach to alliance will erode political trust</p><p>(Image credit: JUNG YEON-JE)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-139466' />