TOKYO — The time for “strategic patience” with North Korea is over, US President Donald Trump warned on Monday, after winning Japan’s backing for his policy of considering all options to rein in the rogue state.
TOKYO — The time for “strategic patience” with North Korea is over, US President Donald Trump warned on Monday, after winning Japan’s backing for his policy of considering all options to rein in the rogue state.
Trump described North Korea’s nuclear program as “a threat to the civilized world and international peace and stability” on the second day of his Asia tour dominated by the crisis.
He vowed that Japan and the United States “will not stand” for North Korea menacing America or its allies.
Trump has signaled in the past that Washington could look beyond a diplomatic solution to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons ambitions and consider military intervention.
“The era of strategic patience is over,” he declared alongside his host, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Under then President Barack Obama, the United States had ruled out engaging North Korea until it made a tangible commitment to denuclearization.
Washington hoped sanctions pressure and internal stresses in the isolated country would bring about change but critics said the policy gave Pyongyang room to push ahead with its nuclear ambitions.
Abe echoed Trump’s remarks, voicing Tokyo’s support for Washington’s policy that “all options are on the table” to deal with Pyongyang’s threat—including military force.
Abe, whose country is in the firing line of North Korean missiles, also announced Japanese sanctions on the assets of 35 North Korean groups and individuals.
The United Nations has adopted multiple rounds of sanctions against the reclusive North Korea, the most recent in September following its sixth nuclear test and a flurry of missile launches.
