May tells Trump: Don’t take on N Korea alone

THERESA May yesterday warned Donald Trump against launching a unilateral strike on North Korea.

The Prime Minister risked her first foreign policy split with the new US President by urging him to work through the United Nations to resolve the crisis posed by Pyongyang’s growing nuclear capability.

Mrs May indicated Mr Trump should give China more time to step in and deal with the threat posed by its belligerent neighbour. Mr Trump underlined US concern about North Korea on Sunday night, saying he was ‘totally’ prepared to take unilateral military action to halt Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions.

He said: ‘If China is not going to solve the North Korea problem, we will. China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. And if they do, it will be very good for China, and if they don’t it won’t be very good for anyone.’

Mrs May has been at pains not to distance herself from Mr Trump on foreign policy since he came to power in January.

But, speaking to reporters on a flight to Jordan yesterday, she indicated the UK would be wary of any unilateral action in Korea by the US.

Mrs May said: ‘What is crucial and where we have been working... through the United Nations security council... and with the United States is to encourage China to look at this issue of North Korea and play a more significant role. I think that’s where our attention should focus.’

North Korea’s dictator is obsessed with nuclear weapons, pouring his country’s scant resources into a costly missile programme while many of his people live in abject poverty.

He has already carried out a string of missile tests, prompting warnings from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that military action is under consideration.

US intelligence agencies believe he will have the capability to fire a missile that could strike America within four years.