The second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un drew to an early close when the two leaders realized they were nowhere near to be able to sign any agreement. For those in Washington who closely monitored the developments leading up to the summit, the fear was that Trump will rush to sign any agreement with Kim for the sake of being able to say he “made a deal.” Now that the seemingly the worst fear has been averted (at least for now), what should concern us?

First is how U.S. policy toward North Korea will unfold in the following months. In the press conference immediately following the summit, both Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed that the talk between the U.S. and North Korea will continue — just not at the leaders’ level.

This article was originally published by The Japan Times on March 4, 2019. Read the full article here.