After the sandwich-maker summit the two Korean boys held hands and began skipping in circles around the park while the band played Ode To Joy. So goes the end of the latest chapter in the ongoing komance between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in.

If you don’t believe it, just look at this quote directly from Reuters:

…”Kim said he feels closer to Moon after talking again.”

SEOUL (Reuters) – After a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump keeps his planned meeting with Kim in June, Seoul-based news agency Yonhap reported Sunday. (link)

Additionally, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “his fixed will” on a possible June 12 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in a meeting on Saturday with the president of South Korea, North Korea’s state news agency said. During what it called in-depth discussions, Kim and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in agreed to hold high-level talks between their two nations on June 1, news agency KCNA said.  (more)

“Maybe”…

This evening President Trump welcomed home Joshua Holt, a young man who had been imprisoned in Venezuela for nearly two years.  Mr. Holt and his family are from Utah.  The family, the State Department team and a group of U.S. politicians who participated in the negotiations for his release, held a short Oval Office press availability.

Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah), Senator Bob Corker (Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee), Senator Mike Lee (Utah), Representative Mia Love (Utah) and a number of key State Department officials were present. Toward the end of the remarks President Trump spoke briefly about the latest discussions surrounding a possible summit with North Korea.

South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in is the Asian version of Barack Obama, and much like North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un essentially irrelevant in this geopolitical confrontation.  Take a seat, or make a sandwich…. it matters not.

Behind the fanciful Korean ‘denuclearization talks‘ and lofty ‘peace initiatives‘ a far more consequential geopolitical economic battle is taking place between the worlds largest two economies.  U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping are engaged.

The Sandwich Maker Summit –  (Reuters) – “South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday in an effort to ensure that a high-stakes summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump takes place successfully, South Korean officials said.

[…]  Their two hours of talks at the Panmunjom border village came a month after they held the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade at the same venue. At that meeting, they declared they would work toward a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

“The two leaders candidly exchanged views about making the North Korea-U.S. summit a successful one and about implementing the Panmunjom Declaration,” South Korea’s presidential spokesman said in a statement. He did not confirm how the meeting was arranged or which side asked for it.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. But White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said an advance team of White House and U.S. State Department officials would leave for Singapore on schedule this weekend to prepare for a possible summit there.”  (read more)

Sandwich Press

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Chairman Xi made a strategic decision in his adversarial approach toward President Trump.  Again, as noted in the briefing by Secretary Pompeo – Panda China is telling Pompeo they too want to see peace, Korean stability and denuclearization.  However, Dragon-China is using the panda mask, and simultaneously leveraging Chairman Kim to aid their trade and economic conquest objectives.

However, Beijing made a fatal mistake; Xi exposed too much dragon face -and brought great shame and embarrassment to the Chinese people- he did not expect President Trump to call him out publicly.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross heads to China June 2-4 with •Steel and Aluminum tariffs; •auto-sector 232 evaluations; •intellectual property penalties; •over $150 billion in additional trade sanctions/tariffs pending; •and financial sanctions against Chinese banks as economic arrows in his dragon slaying quiver.

Don’t doubt for a minute, based on Chairman Xi’s mid-May maneuver with Chairman Kim, Wolverine Ross is not about to fire one -or several- of those arrows directly into the heart of Beijing.  My guess would be the Steel (25%) and Aluminum (10%) tariffs for China go into effect regardless of the disposition of current trade negotiations.

Chairman Xi Jinping made a strategic mistake.  Communist Xi genuinely has no idea the level of hurt President Trump is looking for an excuse to deliver.  Xi Jinping showed great disrespect by attempting to embarrass U.S. President Donald Trump over the Singapore summit.  Things are fixing to get ‘Old-School’.

Credit to Fox Business for finally admitting the role Xi Jinping played in leveraging North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to become more adversarial to the U.S.- North Korean denuclearization talks and summit in Singapore.  Perhaps this is the first reality shift for Western media to discuss, with greater accuracy and honesty, the extent of influence held by China over the activity of North Korea.  The DPRK is a proxy province of China.

The first U.S. trade delegation visit to China happened May 2-5.  Then there was an unexpected second trip by Chairman Kim to Beijing (May 8-9). Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping instructing Chairman Kim to change his approach publicly in order to provide China with leverage in the next U.S./China trade summit which took place shortly thereafter on May 15-18.  China is leveraging North Korea for a better trade outcome.

As noted by President Donald Trump during his Oval Office remarks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the specifically scheming and cunning influence by Chairman Xi, what we customarily call ‘Red-Dragon-China‘, was -and is- accepted by President Trump as evidence of Beijing’s manipulative intent.

Current Steel and Aluminum tariff exemptions expire June 1st.  Secretary Ross scheduled to be in Beijing, China June 2nd, 3rd, 4th.  The G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec is on June 8th and 9th.  The tenuous Singapore summit was previously scheduled for June 12th.

Tweet Link

Earlier today President Donald Trump delivered remarks to the graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland.  In addition to the speech, President Trump remained on stage for 90 minutes to shake the hands of every graduate.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday on multiple issues.  Much of the debriefing to the Senate revolved around Secretary Pompeo’s contacts and coordination with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.

The testimony is interesting for those who are following the DPRK issues.  During many of the exchanges Secretary Pompeo clarifies his certainty that Kim Jong-un fully understood the U.S. position surrounding denuclearization; and for several weeks was progressing toward the June 12 summit with clarity of outcome between the U.S. and North Korea.

Then something happened…

[Watch the Briefing HERE] Secretary Pompeo’s briefing when overlaid with the timing of the first U.S. trade delegation to China (May 2-5); and then the second trip by Chairman Kim to Beijing (May 8); highlights the connectivity of Chairman Xi Jinping instructing Chairman Kim to change his approach publicly in order to provide China with leverage in the U.S./China trade summit which took place shortly thereafter (May 15-18).

As noted by President Donald Trump during his Oval Office remarks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the specifically scheming and cunning influence by Chairman Xi, what we customarily call ‘Red-Dragon-China‘, was -and is- accepted by President Trump as evidence of Beijing’s manipulative intent.

All forward trade and economic discussion with China will now be engaged while the U.S. accepts the Chinese Panda mask has dropped and we are in full battle-mode with communist Red Dragon China.

This is an important tonal shift to note because U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross just announced he is heading to China. Secretary Ross will visit China from June 2 to June 4, the official Xinhua news agency reported, and you can be certain that President Trump has just unleashed the “killer” side of Wilbur Ross.

Ross will visit China from June 2 to June 4, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, adding that Vice Premier Liu He, China’s chief negotiator in the trade dispute, had spoken with Ross over the phone. It gave no further details.

The trade dispute took on added complexity this week when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a national security investigation into imports of cars and trucks, a probe that could lead to tariffs against China as well as key U.S. allies such as Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Germany.  (link)

President Trump is not sending a “trade delegation” to Beijing, he is sending ONLY Secretary Ross. This is where ‘stuff‘ is fixin’ to get very serious. Wolverine Ross will likely be prepared to rip the bamboo forest to shreds. Don’t expect any firm or final decision on a change of heart for the June 12th U.S./DPRK summit in Singapore until after Secretary Ross reports back to President Trump.

How Important? Remember, the 2018 G7 summit is taking place in Charlevoix, Quebec on June 8th and 9th.

In the days leading up to the heads of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States meeting, there are ministerial sessions with the Secretaries of each nation taking place.   The finance and commerce ministerial sessions are scheduled May 31st through June 2nd in Whistler, British Columbia.

Normally Secretary Ross would join Treasury Secretary Mnuchin at these ministerial meetings.  Every economic and finance minister is going to want to talk to the U.S. economic team about the status of the steel and aluminum tariff exemptions. [Currently extended 30 days – expiring June 1st].   However, as noted Ross is going to China instead.

This helps to understand how significant the economic aspects of the Trump Doctrine are to the geopolitical engagements with North Korea.

Chairman Xi has made a strategic decision in his adversarial approach toward President Trump.  Again, listen to the briefing by Secretary Pompeo – Panda China is telling him they too want to see peace, Korean stability and denuclearization.  However, Dragon China is using the panda mask, and simultaneously leveraging Chairman Kim to aid their trade objectives.

Beijing has made a fatal mistake; they have exposed too much dragon face and did not expect President Trump to call them out on it publicly.

Secretary Ross now heads to China with •Steel and Aluminum tariffs; •auto-sector 232 evaluations; •intellectual property penalties; •over $150 billion in additional trade sanctions/tariffs pending; •and financial sanctions against Chinese banks as economic arrows in his dragon slaying quiver.

Don’t doubt for a minute that based on Chairman Xi’s maneuver with Chairman Kim, Wolverine Ross is not about to fire one -or several- of those arrows directly into the heart of Beijing.

Chairman Xi made a strategic mistake.  Xi genuinely has no idea the level of hurt President Trump is looking for an excuse to deliver.  Things are fixing to get ‘Old-School’.

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Everybody has a plan until they get hit. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze.”…

~ Mike Tyson