President Trump and Chairman Kim initial one-on-one meeting to begin day two. Both leaders appear engaged and cautiously optimistic. Again, President Trump focuses on the economic potential for a denuclearized North Korea.  [Transcript will follow]

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[Transcript] President Trump: “Well, thank you very much Chairman Kim, and it’s great to be with you again. And, I’m sure over the years we’ll be together a lot, and I think we’ll also be together after the fact, meaning after the deal is made. We had very good discussions last night at dinner, and the pre-dinner was very good. And, there were a lot of great ideas being thrown about. I think very importantly, the relationship is, you know, just very strong, and when you have a good relationship, a lot of good things happen. So, I can’t speak necessarily for today, but I can say that this, a little bit longer term, and over a period of time, I know we’re going to have a fantastic success with respect to Chairman Kim and North Korea. They’re going to have an economic powerhouse. I’ve been writing about it, I’ve been talking about it. I think it’s going to be an economic powerhouse. And it’s something I very much look forward to helping with because with a little bit of help in the right location and the right place, I think it’s going to be something very special.”
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President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un begin meetings tonight on day two of their Hanoi summit.  Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.  Most of the substantive action, including a joint signing and Trump press conference, will take place overnight Wednesday and early Thursday morning.
ABC Livestream Link – ARIRANG News Livestream

Schedule and Livestream Below:

• 8:25pm EST / 8:25am (local) – President Trump departs JW Marriott Hanoi en route to the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 8:45pm EST / 8:45am (local) – President Trump arrives at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 9:00pm EST / 9:00am (local) – President Trump participates in a one-on-one bilateral meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Hanoi, Vietnam
• 9:45pm EST / 9:00am (local) – President Trump participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Hanoi, Vietnam

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You might want to bookmark this congressional testimony from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to the House Ways and Means Committee for specific purposes…
There are many people who are understandably worried that any U.S. trade agreement between the U.S. and China might not have the most ferocious teeth behind a binding enforcement provision.  If you listen to Ambassador Lighthizer he makes clear that President Donald Trump, and the negotiating team, will not accept any agreement that does not have the strongest enforcement mechanisms at every level.

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In his testimony Lighthizer walks through the basic outline of what a U.S. successful agreement would look like.  While increased Chinese purchases to lower the deficit are a part of the goal, they are a VERY SMALL part of the goal.
The protection of U.S. intellectual property; the removal of non-tariff trade barriers; the confrontation of currency manipulation and the sector by sector enforcement provisions are the primary objective.
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President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un enjoy a jovial social dinner at the completion of their first day of talks.  There is a genuine sense amid both leaders. The venue is Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi; which has french cuisine on the menu.
[Transcript remarks and dinner menu below]

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[Transcript] 7:08pm local – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Everybody having a good time?
Q Yes, sir.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: You are? I hope so.
One of the great photographers of the world. (Laughter.) One of the great. Make us look very good tonight, please.
Q We’ll work on that.
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President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un conduct their first one-on-one discussion during the historic Hanoi Summit (interesting remarks):

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[Transcript] Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam – 6:33pm (local)
CHAIRMAN KIM: (As interpreted.) So it’s exactly 261 days since we met last time in Singapore, in June, last year.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yes.
CHAIRMAN KIM: (As interpreted.) And I truly believe that this successful and great meeting that we are having today is thanks to the courageous decision — political decision that your team, Mr. President, reached.
So, during that 261 days since we last met, there have been some misunderstandings. There have been all these eyes from the world who are misunderstanding the situation. But — and there was some hostility that still remains from the very, very past period that — from the outside.
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President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un meet for the first time at the Hanoi, Vietnam, summit.   The location for the initial greeting, handshake and photo opportunity is the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi.

Remarks by President Trump – 6:28pm (local)
Q Mr. President, what do you hope to achieve in your talks with the Chairman?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think they’ll be very successful. Great relationship. I think they’re going to be very successful. We look forward to it. We both do.

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The majority of the political engagements between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un will take place early Wednesday morning (U.S. EST). Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time.

Wed. Hostage Rescue Schedule and Livestream Below:

• 5:55am EST / 5:55pm (local) – President Trump departs his hotel en route to the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 6:15am EST / 6:15pm (local) – President Trump arrives at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 6:30am EST / 6:30pm (local) – President Trump participates in a greeting with the Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Hanoi, Vietnam
• 6:40am EST / 6:40pm (local) – President Trump participates in a one-on-one conversation with Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 7:00am EST / 7:00pm (local) – President Trump participates in a social dinner with Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 8:35am EST / 8:35pm (local) – President Trump departs the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi en route to his hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 8:55am EST / 8:55pm (local) – President Trump arrives back at his hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam

Day #1 (Wednesday Local) concludes.
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On the sideline of the President Trump and Chairman Kim summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, President Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong participate in a signing ceremony worth a combined $21 billion value in U.S. trade.
Contracts were signed by Kevin McCallister – President and chief executive officer of Boeing commercial airplanes; and Allen Paxson, Vice President of GE aviation.  On the Vietnamese side: Nguyen Thanh Hung, Vice Chairman of VietJet Air; and Nguyen Thi Phurong Thao, President and CEO VietJet.  WATCH:

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Details include: VietJet will buy 100 Boeing 737-Max jets and 215 GE/CFM joint venture engines.  Bamboo Airways will buy 10 Boeing 787-9 jets, and Vietnam Airlines will buy $100 million in services and technology from Sabre Corporation. “These deals will support more than 83,000 American jobs and provide increased safety and reliability for Vietnamese International travelers.” (link)

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The majority of the political engagements between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un will take place in the overnight hours.  Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time.
President Trump is in Vietnam for his second summit with Chairman Kim. The two men first met last June in Singapore, a summit that was the first person-to-person contact between leaders of the U.S. and North Korea.  The structure of the visible public engagement is to reach an agreement where North Korea will give up its nuclear arsenal and enter the economic world of peaceful nations.

Those who follow China and North Korea closely see a much bigger, non-discussed geopolitical effort and engagement.  Within this dynamic a more complex objective is to rescue Chairman Kim from the clutches of oppressive generational control by Beijing, China.
Chairman Xi does not want to give up control and President Trump is leveraging full U.S. economic pressure upon China to break the grip. Technically, President Trump is on the most complex, challenging and historic hostage rescue mission; and the entirety of world’s media cannot see it.  Wed. Hostage Rescue Schedule and Livestream Below:

• 10:35pm EST / 10:35am (local) – President Trump departs the RON en route to the Presidential Palace, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 10:55pm EST / 10:55am (local) – President Trump aprrives at the Presidential Palace, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 11:00pm EST / 11:00am (local) – President Trump participates in a photo opportunity with the General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 11:10pm EST / 11:10am (local) – President Trump participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with the General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Prior to departing for Hanoi, Vietnam, President Trump delivered breakfast remarks to an assembly of our nation’s governors.  [Video and Transcript below]  POTUS is confidently on top of his game; and the humor is priceless.
For those who have followed the granular details of the Trump-Kim relationship closely, one early remark about Kim Jong-un (off-the-cuff and not part of the prepared speech) is very interesting (emphasis mine):

“I’m now — right after this meeting, I leave for Vietnam, where I meet with Chairman Kim and we talk about something that, frankly, he never spoke to anybody about. But we’re speaking, and we’re speaking loud”….

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[Transcript] State Dining Room – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Please. Thank you very much.
As governors, we all sort of get together and we have a good time. But we also — we’re going to accomplish a lot. This going to be a very good meeting. Tremendous things are happening for our country.
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