Shaking hands with Trump gave Kim Jong-un the status boost he craves

Get the Full StoryAmerican leaders regularly meet with authoritarian leaders as equals, whether as partners, allies, or rivals.

The key is how those meetings affect status — and in this case, Kim Jong Un came out ahead after the summit in Singapore.

Discussing whether the US legitimized a dictator is a difficult accusation to disprove, because it's hard to measure legitimacy — it's also incredibly narcissistic on the US's part to assume we make or break foreign governments.

Status, however, is something that we can track on a hierarchical scale. It is also something very important to pariah states like North Korea, who are usually outside the system.

Trump's meeting gave North Korea status in the international community — and once North Korea can make a claim to be in better standing, they become harder to isolate.

In a June 12 editorial, the Washington Post described the recently concluded summit in Singapore as a "triumph for Kim Jong Un and his North Korean regime. A dictator who ordered the murder of his own family members, and who oversees a gulag comparable to those of Hitler and Stalin, was able to parade on the global state as a legitimate statesman."

Indeed, numerous commentators contend that the summit conferred upon Kim Jong Un much-desired legitimacy as the first leader of his country to be treated as an equal by the United States, while simultaneously legitimating North Korea's status as a nuclear power.See the rest of the story at Business InsiderNOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans voteSee Also:3 ways poverty-stricken North Korea can strike it richPope Francis says Trump's policy of separating families at the border is 'immoral'White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin is resigningSEE ALSO: Kim Jong Un visits China for the third time, showing ties with Beijing are stronger than ever

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