Plant a tree for a nuclear- free North Korea

So much has been agreed and/or announced by North and South Korea following the summit between Kim Jong-un and President Moon Jae-in that there may be not be a lot left for Donald Trump to do when it gets round to his turn to shake the "Little Rocket Man's" hand. Even Jim Mattis, the ultra cautious US Defence Secretary, is sounding optimistic about the future of the Korean Peninsula. Now North Korea wants to hold a closing-down ceremony to eliminate the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, buried in the mountains. Well, they would have had to close it down anyway because a lot of it collapsed the last (and I mean last) time they carried out a nuclear test. The vibrations and blast and explosions in September created an earthquake that not only caused a partial collapse of the whole structure but sent alarming reverberations across the border into the nearest Chinese villages. Nevertheless the closing-down ceremony will be a highly symbolic moment for Kim as he tries to present to the rest of the world his intention to become a non-nuclear power. The least he and Trump can do is visit the closed-down site at some point and to plant a sapling of peace in the earth. Mind you, the sapling that Trump and Macron planted in the White House lawn only last week has already disappeared. Trump and Macron were photographed doing what leaders like to do which is to shovel fertilised soil around the roots of a fresh tree as a sign of friendship. Perhaps there wasn't enough fertiliser or maybe too much fertiliser. Spreading fertiliser is a tricky business. One explanation is that it was too early to plant this particular type of tree and it has been taken away by Trump gardeners to replant in the autumn. It means that the Trump/Macron love-in might be on shakey ground until the tree is returned to its spot on the lawn. If a tree is planted by Trump and Kim it will have to stay put for ever, otherwise conspiracy lovers will have a heyday. I anticipate that a lot more is going to be announced by Kim or Moon over the next few weeks so that by the time Trump climbs out of Air Force One in......for his summit with the North Korean leader, the future of the Korean Peninsula will be a fait accompli, or as they say in Pyongyang, "Geolaeleul machyeossda". Dear old Trump is still saying he's prepared to walk out if his meeting doesn't go well (ie NO NUKES, Mr Kim). But after the Kim and Moon show any Trump stomping off will look very bad manners and terrible diplomacy. Trump really is in a bind. Kim has told Moon he wants the Peninsula to be denuclearised but Trump wants a timetable for getting rid of every single North Korean nuclear weapon....NOW. I wonder who will get blamed if Trump storms out!!