Yikes.
Anyway, this reeks of a sucker play to buy time.
Maybe I’m cynical, but this looks like a Reagan-era back channel buy-off mutual face saver to me. North Korea survives off of threats and concessions – they consider this “tribute”. You pay them their tribute and they’re quiet for a few years. Then they come back later and demand more. From our point of view they’re irrational but it works every time, and from their point of view it demonstrates their greatness.
So all you have to do if you’re a person who doesn’t like to seem like they’re making concessions is have someone else pay the tribute secretly on your behalf. Some nation with access to huge amounts of international shady money connections and back channels that could get it (or equivalent goods) into North Korea, but who has also been very close to Trump for a long time. Trump walks into the room, pees on the rug, and the North Korean negotiators immediately give up all demands and agree to suspend nuclear developments (until after the nest round of elections, at the minimum). The pundits go wild over the hidden genius of the wet rug doctrine, but it’s just a simple payoff exactly like every other time.