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Cheng Xiaohe, an associate professor at the School of International Studies at Renmin University in Beijing who focuses on North Korea issues said the main accomplishment of the summit was improving ties between North and South Korea.

“The main characters are DPRK and South Korea,” he said. “Today’s summit was a giant step to improving the relation between DPRK and South Korea.”



Cheng said that China made an effort not to distract from the meeting today. Chinese president Xi Jinping met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, but Chinese media were restrained in reporting much about that meeting.

But there are still big challenges. Cheng said Kim still needs to show real willingness to dismantle the country’s nuclear programme and specify under what conditions that can happen. “Today’s summit is a step towards denuclearisation, but it’s hard to call it a giant step,” he said.