President Donald Trump learned of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's visit to China Tuesday after National Security Council members were briefed by the Chinese ambassador at the White House, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday.
Sanders said Seoul's ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai, also brought a personal message from President Xi Jinping for Trump — and Kim's visit further proved "the maximum-pressure campaign has been working."
"It was a personal message," Sanders told reporters at the daily briefing. "We feel like we made significant process and feel like we're able to continue in this process."
President Trump said on Twitter earlier Wednesday that Xi's message said the meeting with Kim "went very well and that Kim looks forward to his meeting with me.
"In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost," Trump said in his posts:
The Chinese government confirmed Wednesday that Kim had traveled to meet with President Xi and other officials, marking his first trip outside North Korea since he assumed power in 2011.
Kim secretly traveled in and out of China in a special bulletproof train similar to the one his father, Kim Jong Il, used to visit China in 2010.
Despite Kim's visit, Sanders told reporters the White House remained "cautiously optimistic" on President Trump's upcoming meeting with the North Korean dictator.
"But we feel like things are moving in the right direction," she said. "The meeting yesterday was an indication that the maximum-pressure campaign has been working.
"You saw him leave for the first time, since becoming the leader of the country, that he left the country," Sanders added, referring to Kim.
"We see that as a good sign that the maximum-pressure campaign is working.
"We'll continue to work forward in this process for hopes of a meeting down the road."
On the revamping of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Sanders said the objective was to grow not only car manufacturers, but also parts suppliers and affiliated companies.
The changes in the six-year-old accord widens U.S. access to South Korea's car market while providing American manufacturers protection from South Korean imports.
"It also affects the parts component, a major piece of this deal," Sanders said. "We'll continue working with auto manufacturers in this country.
"One of the other things that we've seen is an increase in business across the board and people actually making things in America again due to deregulation, due to the tax cuts.
"We expect business in America to grow and, therefore, the trade component to grow as well."
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