North and South Korean leaders meet in attempt to get stalled denuclearization talks back on track

SUMMIT DIPLOMACY RESUMES: In less than 24 hours, South Korean President Moon Jae-in will fly from Seoul to Pyongyang for his third face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Moon is banking that better relations between the two Koreas will lower tensions and help set the stage for serious discussions between the U.S. and North Korea on denuclearization. The two leaders are scheduled to have talks Tuesday and Wednesday before Moon returns to Seoul Thursday.

“While many experts worry the upcoming talks between Chairman Kim and President Moon will be nothing more than a photo-op, there is reason to believe a breakthrough is possible — thanks to trade tensions between China and America and U.S. domestic politics,” emails Korea expert Harry Kazianis from Seoul where he is monitoring developments on the eve of the inter-Korea summit. Kazianis, national security adviser to the 2016 presidential campaign of Ted Cruz, argues the looming all-out trade war between Washington and Beijing means China will likely no longer help enforce President Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, which increases the pressure to make a deal sooner rather than later.