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"Out of the box" can mean going across a customary boundary into a whole new world, often thought of as a way to innovate and create something better.
"Out of the box" can also mean driving in the wrong lane " against traffic.
Trump has been a lot of the later. Which is Korea?
The sovereign has, for millennia, referred to the "supreme leader"
with the power of life and death over his subjects, to decide all issues
within his domain, to determine the fate of his domain vis-a-vis other
domains, and essentially to do anything he wants, without restrictions.
The sovereign manages all relations with other sovereigns. Typically
all sovereigns are jealous of their territory, and often encroach on the
territory of others by force or subterfuge. Empires are build by
aggressive sovereigns, and fall to others. Crimea and Ukraine is the
latest instance
of such "selfish greed" that is prone to sovereigns. In Russia's
case Putin wants to get back the glory and power at the time the Sputnik
beat the United States into space orbit. And we retaliated by beating
the USSR to the Moon.
International relations are like a grade school class with everybody belonging to some clique, gossiping about everybody else, trying to find out everything they can about everybody else, fighting over toys and places, with bullies and wimps, fighting for place in the pecking order, swapping toys, taking from each other (stealing, or dominating), and all the other social and anti-social behaviors younger children are prone to engage in. For the most part, the social order is somewhat stable, but as children move to middle school and higher, and new ones enter the lower grades, the group dynamics stages, inclusion, control, and affection, flow through the grades as the children deal with belonging, dominance and submission, and finally acceptance and some cooperation for mutual support. It is not until high school that children are introduced to self-government of their class functions. Even then some bullies persist in disruptive behavior, and transferees replay the group dynamics stages in the new environment.
The same pattern can be observed in the dynamics of leaders as they come and go and their adjustments to the relatively stable with respect to territory, wealth, and technology in their respective domains. Some graduate to the high school level, some do not. Some lead, some follow, some dominate, some are subjugated. The United Nations, has less power than the school system which helps guide the maturation of children. The security council with its permanent members is the colluding (and fighting) bullies who dominate the school system through the hereditary character of many sovereign positions. Sovereignty, after all, has most often been an inherited (or conquered) position back through the millennia as far as the leader of the pack ruling by strength - "Right determined by Power". It"s still true in this nuclear age. Kim Jong-un has just gained the power. Now he has to deal with inclusion in the nuclear club, establish his position in the hierarchy (control), before we can all settle down to working together peacefully, trade, culture, etc. (affection).
As far as international relations is concerned, neither Donald Trump nor Kim Jong-un have ever really been in the historical box of International Relations. Donald Trump has only been in the, mostly real estate, development, branding, and marketing business and a flamboyant entertainer, more often than not conning victims out of money and working with the criminal element. His self stated "ethics" is "Anything is okay if you can get away with it.", which he has applied with abandon on his way to and since he became POTUS. The only people he seems to have a modicum of respect for are dictators.
Kim Jong-un became the supreme leader of North Korea on December 17, 2011, with the goal of becoming a top leader with the "big boys" of world power. Due to the isolation of North Korea, playing according to the established rules of diplomacy has not been effectively learned nor used. Both these men are still in grade school when it comes to international socialization. Trump, spoiled by his silver-spoon upbringing, has never been held accountable, even with the many lawsuits against his often nefarious business practices. Trump has thug lawyers to enforce secrecy from his victims; he doesn't follow through with his threats directly himself, and in the political arena, has show an inability to "stand up" to stronger leaders, earning the reputation of being a coward. He appears to be unable to learn the behavior needed for the middle school stage of maturation. Both men have the appearance of "monstrous egos", but Kim Jong-un lacks the cowardice demonstrated by Trump. Trump won"t start a fight unless he can get others to do it.
Kim Jong-un has just demonstrated a certain achievement that wipes out the national humiliation suffered by North Korea as a result of having been forced to accept the armistice of the Korean War. The burning shame of that defeat has been magnified by the enforced isolation since then. Among the Asian cultures, where saving face is a major cultural meme, the shame they felt is more than western nations can even imagine. With becoming an international nuclear weapons power, Kim Jong-un has wiped out that shame and finally achieved saving face for North Korea. It would be a mistake for the international community to continue to impose isolation in the face of Kim Jong-un"s accomplishment.
Trump stepped in it, but, he is likely to come out smelling like a rose with regard to Korea. If we can keep our mitts off the relation of the two Koreas and integrate North Korea into the community, "un-isolate" them, both cultures will co-evolve until they peacefully integrate, many decades in the future.
1. North Korea