N Korea: World needs time to catch up with Trump’s flip flops, says Chinese media

Was US President Donald Trump's scrapping the summit with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday, May 24, a risky act before the summit?

The question was raised by China's Global Times news agency.

In an op-ed titled 'US-North Korea summit: Good things take time' carried by Global Times run by People's Daily on Saturday, May 26, it was said that the world needed a little more time to digest everything that has happened in the past 48 hours and to catch up with Trump's "rapid and unpredictable decision-making".

The piece came out in the wake of Trump's flip-flop over the June 12 summit with Kim scheduled in Singapore.

A day after Trump personally wrote to Kim scrapping the summit on grounds of Pyongyang's "tremendous anger and open hostility", he said the scheduled summit could still happen and that Washington and Pyongyang were holding talks.

Trump said in a tweet: "We are having very productive talks with North Korea about reinstating the Summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12th., and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date."

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held yet another meeting - a month after their historic summit at the border truce village of Punmunjeom to revive the prospects of the June 12 talks.

Trump's earlier decision to call off the talks came as a shocker for all all parties, including South Korea whose president said he was "perplexed". It also came hours after North Korea demolished its only nuclear site at Punggye-ri in the presence of foreign journalists. Pyongyang said the decision was regrettable and that it was open for talk anywhere and in any form. According to observers, North Korea could have retaliated against the cancellation with fury but it chose to remain calm.

It said what Trump called "tremendous anger and open hostility" was just a reaction to the provocative remarks that were being made from the American side. Suggestions flying out from the US ranks that North Korea be dealt with like Libya and the continuation of US-led air combat drills with South Korea in the Korean Peninsula left the North Koreans angry and they resorted to an angry reaction.

North Korea's persistence with the peace talks perhaps made Trump to soften his stand too. On Friday, Trump also said on Twitter: "Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea."

"It could even be the 12th, they (North Korea) very much want to do it, we would like to do it, we will see what happens," the president told reporters, hinting that the June 12 summit could still happen.

"It is difficult to predict what will happen between the US and North Korea going forward. The Peninsula situation has somehow managed to get back on track, even after the North Korean official denounced the US, and Trump announced the cancellation of the US-North Korean summit. The tenacity of the Korean Peninsula situation is unexpected, as many said that the situation is "doomed." However, different sides have worked hard to stop the situation from being derailed. Such tenacity might be one of the most valuable features and deserves to be promoted and carried forward," the Global Times report added.

"Both sides now have growing resolution to solve the Korean conflict through peaceful dialogue. Such resolution is likely to have restrained themselves from going to the extreme in the latest exchange."

"Despite explaining the US firm stance in Thursday's letter, Trump used polite language and left an open-ended conclusion. North Korea's response protected its self-esteem while expressing its willingness for continued dialogues."

The op-ed said the differences between the US and North Korea cannot be abruptly diminished in a day's time. It said there are still challenges on the way of achieving a completely denuclearised Korean Peninsula but if the two sides can pursue the talks with a positive energy, that could still make a real difference as far as peace in the Korean Peninsula is concerned.