“The North’s calculation appears to be that there is space between Trump — who has trumpeted the idea of the end of the Korean War and seems enamored with the idea and imagery of the summit — and Bolton, who has taken a hard line on denuclearization,” said Laura Rosenberger, a former Obama national security council official who was among U.S. officials to join talks with North Koreans during the George W. Bush administration.

“Pyongyang appears to hope that Trump’s desire for a win and the show of the summit will have him marginalize Bolton if forced to choose between his approach and the summit,” she added.

Rosenberger and others called it revealing that Tuesday’s bellicose statement from a top North Korean diplomat focused on Bolton, without criticizing Trump personally. It denounced hard-line remarks the Trump aide made in Sunday interviews that set a high bar for Pyongyang to roll back its nuclear program prior to any sanctions relief.