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.

The positive changes in the past few months have vindicated China’s ideas.

The summit will accomplish almost nothing if no conditions are set, and the summit will not materialize at all if too many conditions are put on the table.

Optimism about this turn of events must be tempered with cautious realism. North Korea is the nuclear problem from hell. Neither South Korea nor the United States can control the narrative; definitions of success or failure are highly relative; and Trump must enter the talks with no exit strategy.