The Trump administration has been putting pressure on China to leverage its influence over North Korea.
President Trump thanked China on Saturday for its work to mitigate North Korean aggression, a notable turn from his recent complaints about China’s efforts, and predicted success on the issue “one way or the other.”
Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the tail-end of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, where the U. S. leader exclaimed that the two “developed a wonderful relationship.”
At the beginning of their remarks, Trump expressed his gratitude to Xi for China’s efforts to curb North Korea’s nuclear and missile-testing activity. “I appreciate the things that you have done relative to the very substantial problem that we all face in North Korea, a problem that something has to be done about, ” Trump said.
“It may take longer than I’d like, it may take longer that you’d like, ” he said, adding “but there will be success in the end one way or the other, ” according to a White House press pool report.
North Korea test fired what the Pentagon said was an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, sparking a fresh wave of international condemnation and push for sanctions.
