President urges regional allies to confront Pyongyang President urges regional allies to confront Pyongyang
President Donald Trump stated outside the White House Friday that “the era of strategic patience” with North Korea is over.
Speaking from the Rose Garden alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump condemned the North Korean regime and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“Together we are facing the threat of the reckless and brutal regime in North Korea, ” Trump said. “The nuclear and ballistic missile programs of that regime require a determined response.”
Alluding to Otto Warmbier, the US college student who died this month after being released from North Korean custody, Trump denounced Pyongyang for its human rights abuses.
“The North Korean dictatorship has no regard for the safety and security of its people or its neighbors, ” Trump added. “And has no respect for human life — and that’s been proven over and over again.”
“The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed, many years and it’s failed and frankly, that patience is over.”
Trump called upon regional powers and “all responsible nations” to join the United States in demanding North Korea avert from its current path.
“We are working closely with South Korea and Japan as well as partners around the world on a range of diplomatic, security and economic measures to protect our allies and our own citizens from this menace known as North Korea, ” Trump said.
The Trump administration stated its intentions to issue sanctions against Chinese individuals and entities Thursday with financial ties to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs.
The announcement follows Trump’s comments on Twitter earlier this month expressing doubt over China’s ability to curtail North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
“While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!” Trump tweeted.
While the South Korean government has signaled its willingness to aid the Trump administration in reigning in North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, the newly-elected Moon Jae-in announced in early June that it would suspend the controversial deployment of a US missile defense system intended to protect the country from Pyongyang.
