North Korea’s state media said on Monday its leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump will discuss a “permanent and durable peace-keeping mechanism” on the Korean Peninsula, denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and other issues of mutual concern.

Chairman Kim Jong-un arrives accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, Defense Minister No Kwan Chol; North Korean Vice-Chairman Kim Yong Chol, and North Korean Vice-Chairman Ri Su Yong.  Even CBS recognizes the “remarkable” efforts by President Trump to bring the North Korean summit to fruition.

.

Follow latest news from North Korean Perspective HERE – Keep expectations low; and remember China still controls the outcomes, and everything happening could just as easily be a strategic Beijing ploy.

(more…)

European Union President Donald Tusk worries about the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama legacy being dismantled: “What worries me most is the fact that the rules-based international order is being challenged, quite surprisingly, not by the usual suspects, but by its main architect and guarantor: the US.”

.

Every parasite needs a host. As soon as the host refuses to remain co-dependent to its own demise, the abusers begin to panic.

(more…)

Earlier today President Trump and members of the administration delivered remarks following the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Canada.  President Trump is heading to Singapore for a historic meeting with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.

Prior to departing Canada, President Trump took questions from the media on a wide variety of issues including trade:  “Economic Security is National Security” !

(more…)

Earlier today, following discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a press conference to discuss “C-VID”, the Complete, Verifiable and Irreversible Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.  WATCH:

.

(Transcript Below)

(more…)

There are visible economic indicators today that positive U.S. MAGAnomic results are overwhelming the voices of purchased political leaders trying to sell a narrative of doom around President Trump’s tariff proposals and reciprocal trade reset. A key point is the U.S. stock market growth amid tariff, trade and NAFTA withdrawal discussion. As CTH has discussed the eventual trade outcomes appear baked into the latest market analysis.

Bolstered by election results showing increased momentum for team MAGA, and decreased likelihood for a Democrat wave, the overall economic news -and factual corporate bottom line results- are flooding the zone with optimism. Amid the strong foundation for U.S. investment and economic growth, the reciprocal trade strategy is no longer heavily feared. Simply put, the ‘America First’ policies are working.

Not only are Trump’s economic policies working (jobs, wages, investment growth), but they are gaining massive momentum as analysts begin to quantify the possibilities of expanded economic growth well beyond the -formerly outrageous- 3% GDP target. The ceiling is being raised faster than the winnamins can be digested.

Amid this U.S. MAGAnomic environment, threats of counter-tariffs by Mexico, Canada and the EU are as useless as feathers in a hurricane:

(more…)

National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow conducts a press conference to discuss the upcoming G7 summit in Canada; the pending North Korea Summit; and the current U.S. trade initiatives.

(more…)

On the same day Vice-Chairman Kim Yong Chol arrives back in Beijing en route to North Korea from a meeting with President Trump, Yonhap News is reporting that the top three officials in the North Korean military have been replaced:

SEOUL/TOKYO, June 3 (Yonhap) — All of North Korea’s three top military officials are believed to have been replaced, an intelligence source said Sunday, in a move that could be aimed at taming the military ahead of a denuclearization deal with the U.S.

No Kwang-chol, first vice minister of the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, replaced Pak Yong-sik as defense chief, while Ri Myong-su, chief of the KPA’s general staff, was replaced by his deputy, Ri Yong-gil, according to the source.

(more…)

Oh boy… subtle like a brick through a window.  Lest there be any debate remaining about the U.S. position toward China in the ongoing Dragon/Panda diplomatic dance, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just delivered a message.

Against the jousting backdrop of Chinese influence over North Korea; and remembering that U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is –right now– in Beijing discussing the future of U.S. and Chinese trade relations; and understanding that even mentioning the 1989 Tiananmen uprising/massacre is forbidden in China….. well:

On the 29th anniversary of the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations in and around Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, we remember the tragic loss of innocent lives.

As Liu Xiaobo wrote in his 2010 Nobel Peace Prize speech, delivered in absentia, “the ghosts of June 4th have not yet been laid to rest.”

(more…)

National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow appears on Fox News with swamp guardian Chris Wallace to discuss North Korea, trade, tariffs and stunningly good economic and jobs results.

(more…)

Yesterday in a discussion thread recognizing DPRK Vice-Chairman Kim Yong Chol, I noted the following: “The Trump administration is providing North Korea the first modern day opportunity to create an authentic version of itself“.  In essence, though it is difficult to describe, the Trump Doctrine has a clarity of purpose.

The nature of the Trump foreign policy doctrine, as it has become visible, is to hold manipulative influence accountable for regional impact(s), and simultaneously work to stop any corrupted influence from oppressing free expression of national values held by the subservient, dis-empowered, people within the nation being influenced.

There have been clear examples of this doctrine at work.  When President Trump first visited the Middle-East he confronted the international audience with a message about dealing with extremist influence agents. President Trump simply said: “drive them out.”

Toward that end, as Qatar was identified as a financier of extremist ideology, President Trump placed the goal of confrontation upon the Gulf Cooperation Council, not the U.S.

The U.S. role was clearly outlined as supporting the confrontation.  Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates needed to confront the toxic regional influence; the U.S. would support their objective.  That’s what happened.

Another example:  To confront the extremism creating the turmoil in Afghanistan, President Trump placed the burden of bringing the Taliban to the table of governance upon primary influence agent Pakistan.  Here again, with U.S. support.  Pakistan is the leading influence agent over the Taliban in Afghanistan; the Trump administration correctly established the responsibility and gives clear expectations for U.S. support.

(more…)