Behind Trump’s North Korea overtures, a tougher message for Seoul

US President Donald Trump’s recent moves toward North Korea — from ordering a reduction in South Korea-US military exercises to publicly claiming that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has responded to his outreach — appear aimed at reopening a channel with Pyongyang. But analysts say the moves may be about more than North Korea. Taken together with Trump’s renewed complaints about the cost of defending South Korea and his frustration over what he portrayed as Seoul’s reluctance to support US mili