Asian policy specialist Gordon Chang interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on her Sunday talk show and accurately outlines the key to a denuclearized North Korea is an economically defeated China.  It appears Mr. Chang fully understands the Trump policy of using economics to achieve national security.
As we have continued to outline, China, specifically the old guard communist control agents within Beijing, use Kim Jong-un as a foil against the west, specifically against the United States.  The long-term objective in using the DPRK is retention of China’s economic strategy, and blockage of President Trump from upending their goals.  Watch:

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As we have outlined extensively, President Trump holds all of the cards in this economic and trade standoff.  The U.S. is China’s customer and there’s a $500 billion trade deficit.
However, President Trump cannot be completely open with the strategy because part of the long-term plan is to allow China to save face by giving up North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. It would be against Trump’s interests if the entire global and geopolitical community understood what was happening.
So they question becomes, how will we know when President Trump has won in the economic and national security challenge?
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While President Trump confronts the North Korean military aggression through economic trade leverage with China, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson heads the diplomatic efforts toward regional partners in Southeast Asia.
Toward that end the Department of State conducts a Washington Foreign Press Center Briefing on “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent Trip to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum.  Patrick Murphy DAS of State for Southeast Asia holds a press availability to debrief. (Q&A begins at 12:00)

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There have been multiple media reports in the last six hours that President Trump is going to announce trade investigation/sanctions against China during a press conference scheduled for Monday.
It makes sense the previously postponed 301 trade investigation against China for violations of intellectual property rights might be announced.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 provides the United States with the authority to enforce trade agreements, resolve trade disputes, and open foreign markets to U.S. goods and services. It is the principal statutory authority under which the United States may impose trade sanctions on foreign countries that either violate trade agreements or engage in other unfair trade practices. When negotiations to remove the offending trade practice fail, the United States may take action to raise import duties on the foreign country’s products as a means to rebalance lost concessions. (LINK)

However, a note of caution. Substantive trade negotiations, the kind which involve economics and national security, are always fluid and subject to pause, postponement or changes in direction based on compliance – or expressions of a willingness to comply.
Remember, this is Trump.  Looking out for U.S. economic interests is the baseline for trade “leverage”, a tactic and skill uniquely evident in this administration’s trade team.  Section 301 is a tool, actually a massive atomic sledgehammer, to force compliance.
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It must be weird for the ordinary person around the world to view U.S. politics through the prism of the American MSM lügenpresse.  We’re often left wondering if international observers realize how much deception and fraud exists in media broadcasts of President Trump.
However, that said, a few days ago CTH predicted via twitter that Friday would bring a “breaking news” revelation that President Trump’s administration had been in ongoing negotiations with North Korea.  Today, exactly that happened.

(Via ABC) Despite the bombastic rhetoric exchanged between North Korean and American leaders this week, the Trump administration has been quietly engaged in back-channel diplomacy with North Korea for several months, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
The ongoing talks, which were first reported by The Associated Press, included discussions about U.S.-North Korean relations and Americans imprisoned in North Korea, the source said.

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Speaking from Bedminster New Jersey, President Trump answers questions from media surrounding the ongoing issue with North Korea, and the intransigent republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his inability to move legislation.

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It’s always about the economic folks.  President Trump is the first U.S. president to fully appreciate, and utilize, economic leverage to achieve U.S. national security objectives.

…”If China helps us with North Korea I will feel a little differently about trade”…

~President Donald Trump

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been engaged with Southeast Asian nations for the past five days during his trip to the ASEAN conference.  The issues surrounding North Korea took up most of the dialogue.  En route to Guam Secretary T-Rex holds a brief press conference aboard Air Force 2:

Against the backdrop of successful U.N. Security Council resolution backed by China Russia, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers a press briefing, statement and questions, surrounding his visit to A.S.E.A.N conference (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The video is sketchy in parts – but the full transcript is below.

[TRANSCRIPT] SECRETARY TILLERSON: Good morning. Good morning, all. How’s everybody’s jet lag? Well, I thought I’d take a few minutes out of the series of events and give you a little bit of an oversight of what has already occurred and kind of what’s coming.
Obviously, high on the agenda in the time that we’ve been here has been the situation with the DPRK and North Korea. And I think the strong UN Security Council resolution unanimously approved, working in coordination with China and Russia both to put out a statement from the Security Council that I think is quite clear in terms of there being no daylight among the international community as to the expectation that North Korea will take steps to achieve all of our objectives, which is a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
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Nuance is important as tensions are very high.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in Manila, Philippines. The primary topic on everyone’s mind is North Korea and the economic sanctions agreed upon yesterday as conveyed in the unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution.

Specifically, all conference participants are familiar with the (generally non-discussed) historic activity of China where they agree to sanctions then become willfully blind to violations of those sanctions; and essentially enable the DPRK to increase hostility.
During this visit U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is delivering a very severe message that U.S. President Donald Trump is well aware of all historic behavior, and President Trump is not going to allow willful blindness.  It is a new era in economic consequence.
The ASEAN audiences at the conference appear accepting of the first-hand message and welcoming a new understanding that President Trump is not going to allow status quo. Here’s the play-by-play as captured by AP during the early part of the conference.
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