President Trump has offered a lot of bluster on North Korea.
As he wrote on Tuesday morning, “I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!” The public lobbying comes on the heels of what Trump described as “in-depth discussions about North Korea’s serious nuclear problems and how to respond to them” during last week’s summit meeting. “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”
But in a recent interview, Trump acknowledged that the issue is, well, complicated. In a conversation with the Wall Street Journal, the president said that he came into his first meeting with Xi convinced that China could curtail North Korea’s nuclear threat. Xi had to explain Chinese-Korean history to Trump, who then realized something important: “After listening for 10 minutes, I realized it’s not so easy,” he told the Journal. “I felt pretty strongly that they had a tremendous power [over] North Korea. … But it’s not what you would think.”
Trump's comments come as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un amps up his provocations. Analysts say the regime may conduct another nuclear missile test Saturday, timed around the most important day on the North Korean calendar: the anniversary of the birthday of its founder. As Anna Fifield reported this morning, “recent satellite images of North Korea’s underground nuclear test site, at Punggye-ri in the northeast of the country, shows it is 'primed and ready,' according to the 38 North website, which follows North Korean affairs. People and vehicles continue to be moving around the site, according to images from Wednesday, the report said.”
As he wrote on Tuesday morning, “I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!” The public lobbying comes on the heels of what Trump described as “in-depth discussions about North Korea’s serious nuclear problems and how to respond to them” during last week’s summit meeting. “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”
But in a recent interview, Trump acknowledged that the issue is, well, complicated. In a conversation with the Wall Street Journal, the president said that he came into his first meeting with Xi convinced that China could curtail North Korea’s nuclear threat. Xi had to explain Chinese-Korean history to Trump, who then realized something important: “After listening for 10 minutes, I realized it’s not so easy,” he told the Journal. “I felt pretty strongly that they had a tremendous power [over] North Korea. … But it’s not what you would think.”
Trump's comments come as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un amps up his provocations. Analysts say the regime may conduct another nuclear missile test Saturday, timed around the most important day on the North Korean calendar: the anniversary of the birthday of its founder. As Anna Fifield reported this morning, “recent satellite images of North Korea’s underground nuclear test site, at Punggye-ri in the northeast of the country, shows it is 'primed and ready,' according to the 38 North website, which follows North Korean affairs. People and vehicles continue to be moving around the site, according to images from Wednesday, the report said.”
