President Donald Trump’s unorthodox foreign policy strategy — which focuses on personal relationships rather than the rigorous preparation traditionally required before critical summits — has yielded some unexpected US diplomatic successes.

But Trump’s repeatedly expressed desire to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week during his tour of Asia is a major test of the US president’s unorthodox strategy.

Trump said Monday he may delay his planned return to Washington if Kim agrees to meet. If the meeting eventually takes place, it will be the fourth four-way meeting between the two leaders.

The last time they met, in 2019, it was all arranged within 36 hours, during the then US president’s Asia tour, after Trump tweeted: “I would meet him at the border/demilitarized zone just to shake his hand and say hello(?)!”. Indeed, they met the next day at Panmunjom, the Demilitarized Zone that separates South and North Korea.

A rapprochement between the two leaders could perhaps help ease tensions in the region, where North Korea and China pose the biggest threats to Indo-Pacific stability.

However, one should not forget that Trump’s three summits with Kim, in his first term, produced nothing of substance. Their first meeting, in Singapore, did not lead to any joint declaration. The second, in Hanoi, ended with Trump walking out, as there was no agreement to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear program. The third meeting was quickly followed by a resurgence of tension as Trump refused – rightly – to cancel a long-planned joint military exercise with South Korea.

But today, North Korea is not the same as the one Trump faced during his first term. The country’s nuclear arsenal has been beefed up to about 50 nuclear warheads, according to the Arms Control Association, and Pyongyang now has enough fissile material to produce several more each year.

In addition, North Korea now has several intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of hitting any point on the US mainland.

Kim wants North Korea to be recognized as a nuclear power. While he says he is open to a new meeting, he made it clear that this can only happen if the US abandons its “meaningless obsession with denuclearization” and instead pursues “peaceful coexistence.”

Trump may be tempted to revive his “great relationship” with Kim. “When they say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power – well, they have a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say,” he said on Friday.

It is a worrying hint that he may be willing to accept that North Korea has now joined the club of nuclear powers. But such a large concession would be a mistake.

Abandoning the long-standing goal of denuclearization would spark debate in Japan and South Korea over whether they, too, should acquire nuclear weapons. At a time when both of Washington’s allies already fear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner in the field of security.

Meanwhile, Kim has strengthened his ties with Russia and China. North Korea has sent soldiers to fight – and die – for Russia as part of its war against Ukraine. And Kim was a guest of honor in Beijing, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.

Trump’s unusual diplomatic strategy led to a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of 20 surviving Israeli hostages. He also managed to push US NATO allies to increase their defense spending.

But talks with Kim require clear goals and red lines: getting Kim to give up his nuclear ambitions, keeping U.S. allies aligned, and Trump being prepared to backtrack on a bad deal.

* Bloomberg Opinion’s Editorial Board publishes opinions from editors covering a wide range of national and global issues