A joint statement without a clear road map or timetable for steps to bring peace to the Korean peninsula will face long-term challenges. The summit may have made good television, but if there is so much to do, real congratulations must wait. The first meeting at the Inter-Korean Liaison Office took place on 22 October 2018 between delegates from the two Koreas. The plan outlined in the joint statement of the two heads of state and government turns out to be exactly what Beijing wants. Chinese media Xinhua welcomed the decision to hold the upcoming Korean innerko summit in Pyongyang. Xinhua said the US had decisive influence on the “Korean Peninsula issue” and called on Washington to play a more dynamic role in regional affairs. Xinhua also viewed U.S. policy toward North Korea negatively with “maximum pressure,” although Pyongyang has made efforts to “shut down” the Punggye-ri primary nuclear test site and return the U.S. remains. On September 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang welcomed the meeting and said it had positive effects on easing military tensions, promoting peace talks and the denuclearization process. [40] If one wants to define success in the sense of opening a high-level negotiation process, the summit of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un was a success. . .
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