WHOOPS – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:  The first high-level talks between Secretary Pompeo and the North Koreans have concluded, with the sides giving contradictory versions of what happened.  This may not succeed.  From Fox: 

North Korea on Saturday accused the U.S. of undermining the spirit of last month’s summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un after what it says were “regrettable” talks with a delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

A statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry, accusing the U.S. of trying to unilaterally pressure the country into abandoning its nuclear weapons, came shortly after Pompeo’s delegation left the country.

"We had expected that the U.S. side would offer constructive measures that would help build trust based on the spirit of the leaders' summit ... we were also thinking about providing reciprocal measures," Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.

"However, the attitude and stance the United States showed in the first high-level meeting (between the countries) was no doubt regrettable," the spokesman said.

Pompeo had struck a different tone, telling reporters as he left that the talks with senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol had been “productive.”

"We had many hours of productive conversations,” he said. “These are complicated issues, but we made progress on almost all of the central issues. Some places a great deal of progress. Other places, there's still more work to be done.”

COMMENT:  It's impossible to know what to make of this.  They're negotiating.  The president promised he would grant no concessions to the Norks if our requirements were not met.  It doesn't look as if they were met.

I would not be shocked if the talks broke down for a time.  That's the business.  Play the long game. 

July 7,  2018