◎ Any “backsliding” by North Korea at this stage would be counterproductive for Kim Jong Un as it would likely cause the U.S. to redouble its focus on resolving trade with China.
Read moreGeopolitics Watch: N. Korea Denuke ‘Stalemate’ and the Sino-US Trade War
◎ How did the failure to secure a declaration of all North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities, let alone a specific commitment to destroy them, somehow move the ball forward?
Read moreHanoi Summit Failure? Not Quite — Kim Now Owes Trump Big Time
◎ A proposed schedule of nuclear and missile dismantling would be part of a good-faith showing by Kim.
Read moreA ‘5 Percent Monthly’ Plan to Denuclearize, Develop North Korea
◎ Kim may want a second meeting with Trump sooner rather than later.
◎ What we are seeing from Beijing and Pyongyang is textbook communist regime negotiation tactics.