Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 28, 2018

Andrew Salmon, Asia Times: Moon urges North Korea, US to communicate ahead of Singapore summit

South Korean president reveals that Kim asked for summit, indicates further inter-Korean summits likely, says, ‘changing course of history’

After his surprise summit on Saturday with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told a news conference that Kim had reaffirmed his commitment to the denuclearization of the peninsula, and that both Koreas hoped that a North Korea-US summit will take place.

“We agreed that the June 12 summit must be carried out successfully,” Moon said, referring to the on-again, off-again summit set to be held between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore. “Our latest summit was to eradicate any difficulties and to hold a successful North Korea-US summit.”

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 28, 2018

Singapore summit: Who is the playmaker in this game? -- Andrew Salmon, Asia Times

Boil, toil and more trouble in South China Sea -- Richard Javad Heydarian, Asia Times

China-US trade war truce shows where Xi and Trump are weak -- Cary Huang, SCMP

China Will Need American Shale -- Anthony Fensom, The Atlantic

What’s the Matter in Manbij? How an Obscure Syrian Town Could Determine the Future of the U.S.-Turkish Alliance and What to Do About It -- Aaron Stein, War On The Rocks

Will Sadr's victory diminish Iran's influence in Iraq? -- Zaid al-Ali, Al Jazeera

The Reinvention of Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr -- Mohamad Bazzi, Foreign Affairs

New Iraqi government will again require Iranian blessing -- Al-Monitor

Current turmoil in Middle East producing one winner: Putin -- Anna Borshchevskaya, The Hill

‘The Old Man Must Give Up’: Why Mali’s Young Voters Are So Disillusioned -- Robbie Corey-Boulet, WPR

Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed and the survival of the ruling EPRDF -- Yohannes Gedamu, Al Jazeera

Will the next Italian elections be a referendum on democracy? -- Henry Newman, Spectator

Putin might look invincible but the big challenge is keeping Russians happy -- Holly Ellyatt, CNBC

Why is Gun Violence Soaring in Mexico? -- Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times

On Memorial Day, A Marine Remembers Syria Before The War -- Zero Hedge

How I remember my lost military comrades -- Bob Kerry, New York Daily News

What Do We Owe the Fallen? -- Edward D. Chang, RCD