Signs abound that his economic isolation campaign is failing. As 2017 comes to a close, President Donald Trump’s strategy for dealing with North Korea is in shambles. Trump has sought to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs this year by crippling its economy, starving its weapons program, and hopefully forcing it to the negotiating table. He pushed the international community to cut off trade with North Korea and pressured China in particular — North Korea’s closest ally and trade partner — to sever economic ties with the hermit kingdom.