If there’s one key premise of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approach to inter-Korean diplomacy, it’s this: you can’t control the United States and other powers, but you can control the environment in which they operate.

Since Moon took office, he has made sure not to publicly contradict U.S. President Donald Trump, even as Trump has threatened North Korea with “fire and fury.”

But Moon’s diplomatic efforts have quietly steered the United States in a different direction. Taking advantage of hints of outreach in Kim Jong Un’s New