Trump: Time for talks with N Korea is over
He ratchets up the tension as despot vows to target US base
DONALD Trump warned yesterday that ‘talking is not the answer’ to reining in North Korea, raising fears that the US could respond to missile launches with military force.
The US President’s statement came after the despotic regime once again threatened to strike the American territory of Guam.
Raising the stakes in the nuclear standoff, Mr Trump tweeted: ‘The US has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!’
However, when asked if America had run out of diplomatic solutions with North Korea, US Defence Secretary James Mattis appeared to disagree with the president.
Contradicting Mr Trump’s comments, the general said: ‘No, we are never out of diplomatic solutions.
‘We continue to work together, and the [South Korean] minister and I share a responsibility to provide for the protection of our nations, our populations and our interests.’
Mr Trump’s mention of ‘extortion money’ to North Korea appeared to be a reference to previous American aid to the country.
A Congressional Research Service report said that between 1995 and 2008, the US provided North Korea with more than $1.3billion in assistance.
Slightly more than 50 per cent of that was for food and about 40 per cent for energy assistance. The aid was part of a nuclear deal that North Korea later violated.
Since early 2009, the US has provided virtually no assistance to North Korea, although there have been discussions about resuming large-scale food aid.
Mr Trump’s latest tweet drew criticism in Washington. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter: ‘Bar is high, but this is perhaps the most dangerous, irresponsible tweet of his entire presidency. Millions of lives at stake… not a game.’
Mr Trump’s statement came just hours after North Korea launched a missile that flew over northern Japan on Tuesday in a significant escalation of the crisis rocking the Korean peninsula.
President Trump, who has vowed not to let North Korea develop nuclear missiles that can hit the American mainland, had said in a statement that ‘all options are on the table’.
North Korea said the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile was to counter American and South Korean military drills.
North Korean leader Kim Jongun then said the test was ‘a meaningful prelude to containing Guam’, where the US has a large military facility, and referred to it as an ‘advanced base of invasion’.
He suggested that his country should conduct more missile tests in the Pacific Ocean, as the opening salvo in a campaign against its enemies.
The dictator was pictured beaming, surrounded by laughing flunkies, as he observed the test of the missile that flew over Japan’s northernmost main island, Hokkaido, before breaking up and crashing into the ocean.
Yesterday America practised shooting down ballistic missiles during a test off Hawaii. The 15member UN Security Council condemned the firing of the missile over Japan as ‘outrageous’ and demanded that North Korea halt its weapons program.
The US-drafted statement, which did not threaten new measure against North Korea, urged all nations to implement UN sanctions and said it was of ‘vital importance’ that Pyongyang take immediate, concrete actions to reduce tensions.