Pray for God’s will to be done in North Korea. Pray for wisdom for U.S. diplomats and leaders as the negotiations in advance of the summit continue. Pray for protection and for truth.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Mt 6:10)

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Dealmaker-in-chief. After abruptly cancelling a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump and his lieutenants are maneuvering this week to resuscitate the planned meeting.

Following White House claims that Pyongyang was snubbing them, North Korean diplomats were dispatched to Singapore and the United States on Monday, according to the Associated Press. Kim Yong Chol, a former intelligence chief who is frequently described as Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man, was spotted in a Beijing airport believed to be en route to New York on Monday.

President Trump confirmed in a tweet early Monday that Kim was headed to New York. “Solid response to my letter, thank you!”  . . .

Late Monday, a North Korean delegation was reported to have arrived in Singapore, which is set to host the Trump-Kim summit — if it happens.

On Sunday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his surprise meeting with Kim on Saturday had yielded a commitment from his counterpart to “completely denuclearize the Korean peninsula.”

But Moon’s remarks also hinted at the huge differences that remain between the United States and North Korea ahead of any summit meeting. North Korean demands of the denuclearization of the entire peninsula would likely require the withdrawal of American nuclear-capable forces from the region, a grand bargain that the Trump administration appears unlikely to accept.

The Trump administration continues to maintain Pyongyang must give up its nuclear weapons quickly and to eliminate its entire arsenal. Moon referred to this gap by saying, “Both sides should try to diffuse misunderstandings by meeting face-to-face.”

Nonetheless, the diplomatic activity has American officials optimistic. “We have got some, possibly, some good news on the Korea summit, where it may, if our diplomats can pull it off, may have it back on even,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters last week.

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Hold your fire. U.S. authorities had been prepared to sanction nearly three dozen entities tied to North Korea this week, but are holding off amid hopes that diplomatic efforts could revive a summit meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, the Wall Street Journal reports. Trump administration officials told reporters last week that the United States was still short of fully implementing its so-called “max pressure” campaign and hinted that more sanctions were likely in the works. (Excerpts from Elias Groll in ForeignPolicy.com)