Trump Says US Will Act Alone on North Korea if China Doesn’t Cooperate
The US President said in an interview with the Financial Times, days before a scheduled meeting with his Chinese counterpart, that if Beijing does not cooperate on North Korea, Washington is capable of handling the current situation “completely” on its own.
Trump’s remarks came on April 3rd, four days before a scheduled meeting at the “Mar-a-Lago” resort in Florida between him and Xi Jinping, President of China.
Trump said “China has deep influence over North Korea… and will decide whether to help us with North Korea, or they won’t help us.”
He then added that if cooperation comes from Beijing “it will be very good for China” but if Beijing is unwilling to cooperate on this matter “it will be good for no one.”
The US President says his country is capable of handling the situation “completely” on its own, without the help of the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing is considered North Korea’s most important supporter. North Korea is a country armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, whose leader has on several occasions threatened the US and neighboring countries with “preemptive nuclear strikes.” In recent months, despite UN Security Council bans, it has repeatedly conducted various missile tests. Among the military objectives that Pyongyang is currently reportedly trying to achieve are miniaturizing nuclear warheads for placement on missiles and also producing long-range missiles capable of reaching American soil.
China, for its part, has expressed concern about the situation on the Korean Peninsula and described it as critical. China’s Foreign Minister recently called for North Korea to first suspend its missile and nuclear activities, so that in response to Pyongyang’s actions, US and South Korean military exercises would also stop. Beijing says such a reciprocal process could bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
Washington, both during Barack Obama’s presidency and at present, has rejected halting its military exercises and activities with Japan or South Korea in order to persuade North Korea to negotiate.
In the Financial Times interview, Donald Trump was asked what actions America is considering regarding North Korea; Mr. Trump replied “I’m not going to tell you. You know! I’m not like America in the past (the past American government) which said where in the Middle East we were going to strike.”
According to predictions, the upcoming meeting between Trump and Xi will be affected by difficult talks and discussions, one of which will be the North Korea issue and the crisis on the Korean Peninsula. During the US elections, Donald Trump, from the Republican Party, repeatedly criticized Beijing’s economic and financial policies toward America. The US President has also accused China of “currency manipulation” and controlling the value of the yuan against the dollar.
Source: Radio Farda
