Why Singapore summit could still surprise

RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visits Pyongyang on Thursday in the latest sign that the "cancelled" US-North Korea summit could be back on track for June 12 or later. The "on-off" uncertainty surrounding the Singapore session, which reflects the natures of both Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump, is as unsurprising as it is potentially embarrassing for the White House which would benefit from taking a new approach to the summit.

As this latest episode underlines, while Mr Trump has shown himself sometimes to be an effective - if unorthodox - political campaigner, it is still genuinely unclear what governing competence he will ultimately demonstrate as the first president since Dwight Eisenhower never before to have held elected office. Despite his claims of being a master deal-maker, last week showed how different the political domain can be to that of running a privately held family conglomerate, and underlined his unusual diplomatic style, and continuing political and policy inexperience around a year and a half into office.

Despite last week's cancellation, there are some signs the session could be on again. On Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-In made a surprise trip to see Mr Kim; on Tuesday, Kim Young Chol, Vice-Chairman of North Korea, arrived in New York to see US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; and on Thursday Mr Lavrov meets Mr Kim.