Source: Global Times    Published: 2018-5-25

The US should show more sincerity and consistency in its foreign policy and avoid fooling around with international society, Chinese experts warned Friday after US President Donald Trump said his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could still go ahead, one day after he canceled the highly anticipated event.

Trump said Friday it was possible a planned summit with Kim could still take place on June 12 as originally planned, Reuters reported. The announcement comes one day after he wrote to Kim that it would be "inappropriate" to hold the planned summit, citing the "tremendous anger and open hostility" shown in North Korea`s recent statements.

After voicing surprise and regret, North Korea said that it is ready to sit down with the US any time in any manner for talks to solve their existing problems.

"It`s still too early to say whether the Trump-Kim meeting will happen on June 12. But canceling the summit will bring the US no good," Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

Trump`s reversals show his administration is hugely divided over the talks, but Washington should show more consistency and sincerity when making decisions to avoid leaving the impression it is "fooling around with Pyongyang,"Lü said.

China on Friday urged the US and North Korea to remain patient and offer more goodwill to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We hope the US and North Korea cherish the positive progress made recently, stay patient, release goodwill and meet each other half way and solve their concerns via dialogues, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily briefing on Friday.

When asked whether China`s influence on North Korea was behind the cancellation, Lu said China has always played a "positive and constructive" role on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula and it has no hidden agenda.

China`s stance on insisting on the denuclearization of the peninsula, safeguarding the peace and stability of the peninsula and insisting resolving issues via dialogues and consultations has never changed, said Lu.

Uncertainties exist

Canceling the summit would make US the biggest loser, said analysts, adding that it would not only damage US` credibility in international society, but also the trust of its alliance.

"The US will hardly be able to recruit more countries to bring more sanctions against North Korea, and the US is also distancing itself from allies because of its arbitrary work style," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University`s Institute of International Relations, told the Global Times on Friday.

The US has put South Korea in an embarrassing position and raised doubts about its mediating role, as the decision was announced soon after South Korean President Moon Jae-in ended his trip to Washington which was aimed at securing the Trump-Kim meeting, said Lü.

Canceling the meeting would make Trump a president who is unable to keep promises and has no conviction in his commitments, said Lü.

Though the Trump administration`s about-face has created uncertainties, the current momentum is unlikely to be reversed as North Korea and South Korea have "seen and tasted" positive outcomes of a peaceful relationship, and Pyongyang`s efforts are well received by not only China and Russia, but also the wider international community, experts noted.

North Korea confirmed on Thursday the demolition of its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, saying all its tunnels have been collapsed and their entrances completely closed, the Pyongyang-based Korean Central News Agency reported.

South Korea said it will continue diplomatic efforts to maintain a dialogue between North Korea and the US.

Misunderstandings from the US, such as the condescending idea of regarding the meeting as a "reward" for North Korea`s denuclearization efforts, should end in order to bring the positive mood back on track, said Lü.

"A closer and stable relationship between China and North Korea will also reduce the possibility of further conflicts on the peninsula," Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

China will continue to play a positive role in persuading North Korea and the US from taking any radical action, said Jin.

Jin Canrong is associate dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China.