North Korea continues nuclear activity as before. After 1.5 years of threats and a historical meeting, Trump's gotten us back to where we were under Obama. Except with more prestige for Kim, less leverage for US, and less economic pressure on North Korea.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-iaea/no-indication-north-korean-nuclear-activities-stopped-iaea-idUSKCN1L61HB …
Under Obama, North Korea released 11 American hostages. The numbers don't really matter. The point is that taking and then releasing American hostages is something North Korea does from time to time as part of its larger strategy.