China and the US should work together to keep North Korea to its word and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

The specter of a U.S.-China trade war should not distract us from paying critical attention to what Beijing might have gained from the recent summit in Singapore on North Korea’s denuclearization. In fact, China is positioning itself to reap diplomatic dividends from what promises to be a long road to denuclearize North Korea.

For the agreement to succeed, the US and its allies must build mutual trust with Kim Jong-un and not dwell on their differences.

How will disarmament and peace on the Korean peninsula be facilitated?

The Singapore summit was a good step forward, but a lot of questions remain.

With North Korea enjoying an improvement in its international environment, especially warming relations with China, it feels that the time has come to push back against the US.

Cancelling the summit makes the US look unreasonable and gives the initiative to China.

In recent weeks, the world has witnessed what was thought to be virtually impossible. Not only a thawing of tensions between North and South Korea, but what seems to be a rapid move towards opening and rebuilding of diplomatic relations between the two.

Hopefully the region will move towards peace and cooperation.

The initial steps that Kim and Moon have taken are encouraging, and they provide the foundation for a lasting peace on the Peninsula. But they are just initial steps, and many thorny obstacles remain.