THOSE TOUGH KOREAN TALKS – AT 1:25 P.M. ET:   We knew the talks with North Korea would be tough, and that's the way things have turned out.  The session between Secretary Pompeo and the Norks several days ago was bumpy.  Talks with North Korea always has been.  President Trump is hoping for a breakthrough, which is what drove him to arrange a summit with North Korea's leader, Kim Jung Un.  Now for the hard part.

The Trump haters are rejoicing that the first real negotiating session was tough.  Anything to discredit the president.  These are the same haters who had no problem at all with President Obama's foreign policy of endless concessions.  That policy is over.  From Fox: 

President Trump suggested Monday that China could be “exerting negative pressure” on North Korea to stray from the denuclearization “deal” signed last month, amid trade tensions between the U.S. and Beijing.

The president expressed “confidence” that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will “honor” the deal, despite tense talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the weekend.

“I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea,” Trump tweeted. “China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade—Hope Not!”

The president’s tweet comes days after the administration increased tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports as Beijing said it would be “forced to make a necessary counterattack.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed various levels of government to get ready for a full-on trade war, The Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing Chinese officials.

China is expected to hit back against the Trump administration’s 25 percent tax on those Chinese goods with taxes on an equal amount of American products, including soybeans, lobsters, sport-utility vehicles, and whiskey. But according to the Journal, China has not yet outlined exact targets.

But the president’s confidence in North Korea comes after the rogue regime over the weekend accused the U.S. of undermining the spirit of last month’s summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore, calling talks with Pompeo “regrettable.”

COMMENT:  No crisis, just the usual aggravation.  There will be more negotiating coming up, and we will know if there is any chance for real progress.  If not, both the president and the secretary have pledged that the sanctions on North Korea will remain in place, and we will have shown the world that we at least tried.

July 9, 2018