On April 27, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started to write a potential new chapter in the history of inter-Korean relations. The signing of the Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula has given the Korean people a new reason to be optimistic about the future.

This is the first time Kim Jong-Un, as the top leader of DPRK, has formally announced a nuclear/missile freeze, showing its sincerity to participate in denuclearization talks.

Richard Heydarian, recently returned from a trip to North Korea, argues that the Kim regime has returned to the negotiating table out of a fortuitous combination of greater confidence, mastery of the nuclear cycle, and vulnerability, as sanctions begin to undermine the economic viability of the country.

The ball is in Trump’s court now.

Kim Jong Un’s clear indication to denuclearize and his recent visit to China will bring spring to the peninsula.

There are many uncertainties and moving parts, but one thing is certain: Kim’s short trip to China has shaken up the strategic dynamics of East Asia.

China’s involvement in the negotiation process with North Korea and in the ultimate implementation of any agreement is essential. It will take serious effort to develop policies, organizations, and processes that simultaneously satisfy the DPRK, Beijing, and America. That just makes it more important that multilateral discussions begin on these issues.

To China, North Korea has remained, though a thorn in its side at points, a check against Western powers in the region, namely the United States. As with climate change, this the North Korea conundrum is a valuable opportunity for China to continue to prove its desire to become more involved in global crises and continue to showcase its “peaceful rise” in the global community.

China appeared increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of South Korea and the United States in the lead and in control of the direction of diplomacy with North Korea. Now, Xi has had the opportunity to influence the terms of any future agreement.

Extensive official news reporting about the trip says very little about anything resembling mutual commitment.