High-level visitors to Pyongyang may achieve peace

THE denuclearisation agreement reached by US President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12 is in trouble - in large part because of its vagueness, with no common understanding as to what is meant by complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula or the timeframe in which this is to be achieved.

Much depends on what transpires over the next few weeks, as key figures fly in to Pyongyang. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to travel there soon, his fourth visit to North Korea.

Presumably, if his visit goes ahead, it will be because of progress at the working level. The US has pressed North Korea, unsuccessfully, for a list of nuclear facilities but Pyongyang has agreed to allow a UN agency to conduct an on-site inspection to ensure the safety of international flights. North Korea,…