US president discusses North Korea’s ‘provocative actions’ in a phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping
U. S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States would respond to North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile test flight by slapping more sanctions on Pyongyang.
Trump mentioned new “major sanctions” in a tweet and said they would be unveiled later in the day. Administration officials declined to provide details when asked by reporters.
“We want to do everything we can to put maximum pressure on North Korea,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in response to a question from VOA about whether the administration thought the new sanctions would be effective. “We’re going to continue doing that in every way possible — both diplomatically, economically, and working with our partners and allies and ask them to step up and do more in this process as well.”
In a tweet Wednesday, Trump said he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the “provocative actions” of North Korea. He again vowed that the “situation will be handled,” but did not elaborate.
“President Trump underscored the determination of the United States to defend ourselves and our allies from the growing threat posed by the North Korean regime,” the White House said in a statement on the call with Xi.
The readout also said Trump “emphasized the need for China to use all available levers to convince North Korea to end its provocations and return to the path of denuclearization.”
Speaking to reporters on the way to Missouri on Air Force One, White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah declared “the North Korean threat is very grave” following Pyongyang’s claim it tested a Hwasong-15 missile “tipped with a super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the whole mainland of the U.
