Trump: ‘Good progress’ on N. Korea; President hopes regime will ‘make deal’ on nukes,
President hopes regime will ‘make deal’ on nukes
SEOUL, South Korea - President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will continue to push South Korea and other nations to pressure North Korea into giving up its nuclear weapons, calling their existence unacceptable.
While suggesting he is willing to use military force if necessary, Trump also told reporters during a visit to Seoul that he sees “good progress” on hopes that North Korea will “make a deal” regarding its nukes. He did not elaborate.
“North Korea is a worldwide threat that requires worldwide action,” Trump said at a news conference after meetings with South Korea President Moon Jae-in.
The president also said that he and Moon have agreed to renegotiate the free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea, in order to make it “free, fair and reciprocal.”
Anxieties about North Korea nuclear tests — and about Trump’s harsh comments toward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — have triggered fears of war in South Korea.
Trump said he would engage in military action “if need be,” but also expressed confidence the impasse will be resolved as he engaged in meetings and ceremonies less than 50 miles from the North Korea border.
The president who has mocked Kim as “Rocket Man” and threatened to rain down “fire and fury” if Kim attacks the United States or its allies modulated his rhetoric during his visit to South Korea.
“Ultimately, it will all work out; it always works out; it has to work out,” Trump said during an earlier briefing at Camp Humphreys, a U.S.-South Korean military base near Seoul.
Moon and his aides, however, have expressed discomfort with Trump’s aggressive rhetoric, though the South Korean president expressed general support for the American’s efforts after their meetings on Tuesday.
As Trump headed toward Seoul, South Korea Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said all officials need to be careful about talk that smacks of war.
“Another war on the Korean Peninsula must not happen,” Kang told NBC News.