Trump's double-speak?

It is only US President Donald Trump's unpredictability that knows no bounds. Consider: Less than 24 hours after cancelling the much-anticipated summit with Kim Jong-un and boasting about who has more "massive" nukes, Trump took a big U-turn and tweeted about peace and prosperity for North Korea. There is a widely held perception that there are people within Trump's administration, notably figures such as national security adviser John Bolton who do not want the talks to materialise. As such, he is said to have undone much of the work done by Mike Pompeo. The Trump administration had no idea of the consequences of references to Libya would lead to, making North Korea grossly angry. Unlike Moammar Qadhafi's Libya that gave up its nascent nuclear programme only for the Libyan leader to be killed by Western-backed rebels a few years later, North Korea claims that it is a fully-fledged nuclear state. It will therefore never engage in any peace process that jeopardises its leadership or its survival as a state.
Be that as it may, the question is what eventually led to the change of heart in the White House. Perhaps Trump was clearly touched by the statement from North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, who had said that Pyongyang was "still willing to resolve issues with the United States" and expressed hope that the nuclear summit could still be rescheduled. Trump, who is widely known for his twitter obsession, tweeted: "Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea...We will soon see where it will lead, hopefully to long and enduring prosperity and peace. Only time (and talent) will tell." When asked by reporters outside the White House, he also suggested that a summit could still occur on June 12, as previously scheduled. "It could even be the twelfth," he emphasised.
The cancellation of summit talks had jolted the world community. The UN chief reportedly had said he is "deeply concerned" by the cancellation of the planned summit. British Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement expressing regret that the summit has been cancelled. "We are disappointed that President Trump's talks with Kim Jong-un on 12 June will no longer go ahead as planned," she reportedly said in a statement. A prominent Russian legislator has been quoted as saying that the cancellation of the planned summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un is a serious setback. Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, is quoted by the news agency Interfax as saying: "The rejection by Trump of conducting the American-North Korean summit undoubtedly is a serious blow to peaceful settlement in the region." He makes a profound point by saying that "it's already the second blow, after the exit from the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme, to global stability in general." Luckily, sanity seems to have gained ground in the Trump camp as the prospects of holding of 12th June summit in Singapore have suddenly brightened with Trump's U-turn. There can be no denying the fact that North Korea too doesn't want to miss this historic opportunity. Its principal backer, China, which is at present engaged with the US in a quasi trade war, also wants to bring the North Korea-US nuclear standoff to an end because of a variety of reasons. However, it is important to remember that the most important person in the summit process is President Moon of South Korea. Not only is Moon trying to bring about peace and diplomacy on the peninsula, he is also trying to reclaim more independence and sovereignty in relationship with the US. He has done it extremely deftly so far. Last but not least, it is heartening to note that North and South Korea's leaders held surprise talks on Saturday to get the historic summit back on track after a head-spinning series of twists and turns. The meeting does constitute the latest remarkable diplomatic chapter in a roller coaster of developments on the Korean peninsula. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.