Carrot & stick diplomacy with North Korea is a technique far older than President Pants-around-ankles.
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush I all practiced it with North Korea to one degree or another, directly or approvingly as our Asian partners have practiced it.
Unfortunately, they were all dealing with with the elder Ding Dong Dung, or whatever the hell their names are, and he was a bit more practical and pragmatic than psycho sunny.