*By Alisha Haridasani*
A rare visit to the United States by a senior North Korean general may lay the groundwork for a renewed summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, a North Korea analyst said.
“It looks like the summit is going to go ahead,” said Martyn Williams, a journalist at IDG News Service. “Whether it happens on June 12 is going to be a logistical question.”
Trump said in a [tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1001410457092218880) Tuesday that the general, Kim Yong-chol, was headed to New York for meetings “concerning Summit, and more.” The general would be the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit the U.S. in almost two decades.
He was expected to [meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/29/politics/north-korea-summit-pompeo/index.html) when he arrives later this week, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary said on Tuesday. The two men have met twice before in Pyongyang.
“The direct contact is very important," Williams said in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar. "It not just shows a sense of willingness on both sides to directly engage and directly talk about things, but it also allows the U.S. and North Korea to get a better feel for each other.”
The White House was taking its own steps to move negotiations for the summit forward. Trump administration officials were coordinating with their North Korean counterparts in Singapore, and in the demilitarized zone that separates North Korea from South Korean, Sanders said.
Trump will also meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan next month to [“continue close coordination”](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/readout-president-donald-j-trumps-call-prime-minister-shinzo-abe-japan-10/) with an essential American ally in the region.
General Kim is often referred to as the North Korean leader's right-hand man. “In fact, quite literally we’ve seen this year, in many of the meetings that Kim Jong-un has done, he has been sitting right to his right-hand side,” said Williams.
The general was at Kim Jong-un’s meetings with President Xi Jinping of China and meetings with the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in. General Kim used to lead North Korea’s intelligence service, which has been linked to the 2104 cyberattack on Sony Pictures.
“This is a man on the U.S. sanctions list,” said Williams. “Technically, he’s not allowed in the U.S.”
General Kim was put on a Department of Treasury sanctions list in 2010 and again in 2015, and is barred from entering the United States. He was in Beijing on Tuesday, likely waiting for a waiver and to confer with North Korea's Chinese allies.
The visit of a top North Korean general would be an undeniable sign that tensions between Washington and Pyongyang may have eased since last Thursday when Trump canceled the summit in Singapore. After [the president's letter](https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-cancels-north-korea-summit-leaving-its-fate-in-kim-jong-uns-hands) canceling the meeting, Kim Jong-un responded with an olive branch, saying he was willing to meet “at any time.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-historic-north-korea-summit-could-be-back-on).
President Biden is looking at unlikely partners to buy oil, after banning all Russian energy imports. Among them is Venezuela, a regime that has been sanctioned by the U.S. since 2019. Ariel Cohen of the Atlantic Council explains to Cheddar News why that might not be a bad choice.
Stock trading app Robinhood already has been offering cryptocurrency investments but seems further excited about the asset class following President Biden's recent announcement of an executive order. Dan Gallagher, the chief legal and corporate affairs officer for Robinhood, joined Cheddar News to talk about the White House's tentative vision for digital currency. "I think this executive order firmly states that, yes, crypto is here to stay, which it talks about the important competitive issues around crypto and how the United States needs to be a leader, a global leader, in innovation and technology regarding crypto," he said. Gallagher also discussed having clarity around meme stocks going forward but worried about overregulation slowing down innovation.
As Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the latest inflation report showed the consumer price index rose 7.9 percent — a 40-year high. Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joined Cheddar News to discuss what American consumers might be in store for as prices keep rising. "Forecasters at this point believe that the American economy will be resilient," she said. "They’re still predicting that the unemployment rate will continue to be lower at the end of the year than it is today, and we are still seeing folks believe that over time prices will come back down." Boushey did note that it would be dependent on how long the current situation lasts.
Simon Shuster, TIME's Moscow correspondent joins Cheddar to discuss how Ukraine could become part of the EU and what it would mean for politics in Europe.
President Biden has banned imports of Russian oil to the U.S. in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The president warned of higher prices at the gas pump, leading some analysts to think it could propel the transition to clean, renewable energy. Michael Jones, chairman and CEO of investment solutions company Caravel Concepts, discussed how the ban is hitting green energy stocks as gas prices continue to surge. "I think the 10-year prospects for renewables just got a whole lot better because ultimately this is going to force a transition into renewables," he said.
Amid ongoing tensions in the Russia-Ukraine region, many American travelers are nervous about traveling to Europe.
It comes at a time when international travel was set to make a comeback, but uncertainty surrounding the conflict may delay the overall recovery. Francesca Page, Travel Expert, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is coming for the global food supply. Ongoing tensions in the region are threatening the supply of various agricultural products including wheat, barley and corn. Vladik Rikhter, CEO & Cofounder of Zenput joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss how this could impact food prices overseas.
Chris Natividad, CIO of EquBot, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on what ultimately dragged the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq lower on Tuesday and discusses how investors are reacting to rising oil prices and February CPI data coming out later this week.
