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.

Parties concerned should seize the opportunity to resume dialogue on denuclearization.

Can the Olympic spirit lead to a diplomatic process that will effectively promote peace and development in Northeast Asia?

Will the proposed meeting between Trump and Kim be "possible progress" or "false hope"?

Has the U.S. position on how to deal with North Korea actually changed?

Any visitor to Dandong’s waterfront can tell that China offers a humanitarian and economic lifeline to DPRK. However, it is unclear to experts and laymen alike just how much political influence Beijing wields over Pyongyang, writes Indira P. Ravindran.

North Korea has never been an easy ally for the People’s Republic of China. With the execution of Jang Song-taek, Kim Jong-un’s uncle and supposed mentor, Beijing’s uncertain clout in Pyongyang is at risk.

As the United States and China have been working to build a new type of great power relationship, North Korean policy has often been a point of debate. Bonnie Glaser outlines the importance of Pyongyang to the strengthening of Sino-US relations.

The time has come for China to rebalance its traditional geostrategic interests with its new role as a global leader – and that means adopting a policy of disciplined engagement toward North Korea. Only then will an internationally coordinated response to the North's nuclear ambitions be possible.

One of the main breakthroughs from the informal summit between the leaders of China and the US was that Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping did agree to work together on keeping North Korea in check and the Korean peninsula nuclear free, writes George Koo.