Back in September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to "tame" Donald Trump, deriding the president as a "mentally deranged US dotard".
President Trump replied by calling Mr Kim a "maniac" and a "madman", and warning he would be "tested like never before". Later they traded barbs over who had a bigger nuclear button.
Six months on, those high-stakes playground spats are part of a bizarre diplomatic backdrop to a summit no-one saw coming. Mr Trump surprised the world on Thursday when he announced, via a South Korean official, that he had agreed to meet Mr Kim.
The major negotiating point of their meeting will be de-nuclearisation of the North Korean regime. Beyond that, little is yet known about potential objectives and concessions on either side.
It is a remarkable gamble by the US president, one that would make him the first American leader to meet a North Korean counterpart. The careful choreography and delicate diplomacy required by international talks have not always come naturally to the Trump team, and now its staff have on their hands one of the most high-profile bilateral summits in US history.
Source : bbc
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