The United States and Japan are united in their efforts to clamp down on North Korea’s “growing threat, ” as the regime ramps up its nuclear drive and other belligerent efforts, the White House said Sunday.
The United States and Japan are united in their efforts to clamp down on North Korea’s “growing threat, ” as the regime ramps up its nuclear drive and other belligerent efforts, the White House said Sunday.
During a phone call, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “reaffirmed that the United States-Japan Alliance stands ready to defend (against) and respond to any threat or action taken by North Korea”, the White House said in a statement.
It added that the pair expressed “unity with respect to increasing pressure on the regime to change its dangerous path.”
During a separate phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said it was Trump who “raised the growing threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”
“Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.”
But the White House made no mention of possible discussions between Trump and Xi over disputed islands in the South China Sea, even though the call took place just hours after a US warship sailed near an island in the waterway.
