President Trump has promised so much on his first few days back at his desk in the White House, one must wonder, however, how much he or any other mere mortal could accomplish.

Somewhere down the list comes North Korea, where his old friend Kim Jong Un remains ensconced in the capital of Pyongyang. Trump has said he believes Kim would like to talk again, as they did in their summits in June 2018 and twice in 2019. But Kim now has a powerful friend in the form of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, to whom he’s supplying arms and troops in exchange for technology for his nukes and missiles — and food for his hungry people. By now he doesn’t necessarily need to rekindle his brief bromance with Trump.

Playing into the drama, turmoil in South Korea also changes the give-and-take between Washington and Seoul. Trump knows whom to see in Pyongyang, but he has no real idea whom to turn to in Seoul until the chaos dies down and we see who’s in charge in the Republic of Korea.

We can probably forget about the South’s current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, now in jail while the constitutional court considers whether to approve his impeachment by the National Assembly. He will soon go on trial for committing “insurrection” — his abortive attempt at imposing martial law on Dec. 3. Even if the court doesn't approve his impeachment, which requires the vote of six of its nine judges, he’s not going to regain the power and authority needed to govern effectively while the opposition Democratic Party, controls the assembly.

© The Hill