There are growing expectations that a second Trump-Kim summit could happen sooner, rather than later, following this week’s meeting between Kim and China’s President Xi Jinping, and a quick announcement that Xi will soon be visiting Pyongyang.
China is very keen to get involved in this process, with Kim and Xi talking already on how to jointly “steer” the situation. This second visit announcement suggests there is much to be decided on in short order.
During the previous meeting, President Xi urged the US and North Korea
to meet each other halfway. China seems interested in publicly endorsing
the process, after President Trump has accused them of undermining the
process.
In general, the US is resisting to providing any concessions to North
Korea until they meet all US demands. This, along with desires to
maintain the impression of keeping pressure maximized has meant the US
has more sanctions against North Korea than when the negotiations
started.
Nothing to get excited about. Trump, again, will make promises that we won’t keep. But he’ll let “bad cops”, Bolton and Pompeo do the dirty work.