Kamala Harris: Balancing Loyalty and Change in Her Bid for the Presidency

[webfact]

Trump says U.S. not 'putting up with' North Korea's actions

By Jeff Mason and Michael Martina

 

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that military action against North Korea would not be a first choice and said he had had a "strong" discussion with China's President Xi Jinping about the issue.

 

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States would no longer tolerate North Korea’s actions but said the use of military force against Pyongyang will not be his "first choice."

 

In a flurry of phone calls with world leaders days after North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping committed to "take further action with the goal of achieving the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” the White House said.

 

"President Xi would like to do something. We'll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what's happening in North Korea,” Trump told reporters, though he offered no specifics.

 

“I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100 percent,” he added.

 

Asked whether he was considering a military response to North Korea, Trump said: "Certainly, that’s not our first choice, but we will see what happens.”

 

Xi, who has been under pressure from Trump to do more to help curb North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, told the U.S. president during their 45-minute call that the North Korean issue must be resolved through “dialogue and consultation.”

 

The focus on negotiations by China, North Korea’s main trading partner, contrasted with Trump’s assertions over the last few days that now was not the time for talks with North Korea while pressing instead for increased international pressure on Pyongyang.

 

The United States and South Korea have asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions on North Korea after its nuclear test on Sunday that Pyongyang said was an advanced hydrogen bomb.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Wednesday that resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis was impossible with sanctions and pressure alone.

 

Putin met South Korea's Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of an economic summit in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok amid mounting international concern that their neighbour plans more weapons tests, including possibly a long-range missile launch before a weekend anniversary.

 

Putin echoed other world leaders in denouncing North Korea's latest nuclear bomb test on Sunday, saying Russia did not recognise its nuclear status.

 

"Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear program is a crude violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, undermines the non-proliferation regime and creates a threat to the security of northeastern Asia," Putin said at a news conference.

 

"At the same time, it is clear that it is impossible to resolve the problem of the Korean peninsula only by sanctions and pressure," he said.

 

No headway could be made without political and diplomatic tools, Putin said.

 

MOON SEEKS SANCTIONS

 

Moon, who took office this year advocating a policy of pursuing engagement with North Korea, has come under increasing pressure to take a harder line.

 

He has asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions after North Korea's latest nuclear test.

 

The United States wants the Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea, ban the country's exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean labourers abroad and subject leader Kim Jong Un to an asset freeze and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

 

Diplomats say the U.N. Security Council could also consider barring its airline.

 

"I ask Russia to actively cooperate as this time it is inevitable that North Korea's oil supply should be cut at the least," Moon told Putin, according to a readout from a South Korean official.

 

Putin said North Korea would not give up its nuclear program no matter how tough the sanctions.

 

"We too, are against North Korea developing its nuclear capabilities and condemn it, but it is worrying cutting the oil pipeline will harm the regular people, like in hospitals," Putin said, according to the South Korean presidential official.

 

Russia's exports of crude oil to North Korea were tiny at about 40,000 tonnes a year, Putin said. By comparison, China provides it with about 520,000 tonnes of crude a year, according to industry sources.

 

Last year, China shipped just over 96,000 tonnes of gasoline and almost 45,000 tonnes of diesel to North Korea, where it is used across the economy, from fishermen and farmers to truckers and the military.

 

Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed in a telephone call on Tuesday that China must do more to persuade North Korea to cease its missile tests, a spokesman for May said.

 

'FREEZE FOR FREEZE'

 

Sanctions have done little to stop North Korea boosting its nuclear and missile capacity as it faces off with Trump, who has vowed to stop it from being able to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon.

 

China and Russia have advocated a "freeze for freeze" plan, where the United States and South Korea stop major military exercises in exchange for North Korea halting its weapons programmes, but neither side is willing to budge.

 

North Korea says it needs to develop its weapons to defend itself against what it sees as U.S. aggression.

South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

 

China objects to both the military drills and the deployment in South Korea of an advanced U.S. missile defence system that has a radar that can see deep into Chinese territory.

 

South Korea's Defence Ministry said the four remaining batteries of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system would be deployed on a golf course in the south of the country on Thursday. Two THAAD batteries have already been installed.

 

Graphic - Nuclear North Korea - http://tmsnrt.rs/2lE5yjF

 

(Additional reporting by Denis Pinchuk in VLADIVOSTOK, Soyoung Kim in SEOUL, Stephanie Nebehay in GENEVA, William Mallard and Kaori Kaneko in TOKYO, Christian Shepherd and Michael Martina in BEIJING, and Jim Oliphant in Washington; Writing by Matt Spetalnick and Lincoln Feast; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-09-07

[Rancid]

Was reading Trump now says a diplomatic solution the best way. This came shortly after S Korea agreeing to a multi-billion dollar arms purchase from the US. Obviously though the N Korea problem was never ratcheted up just to get a huge arms sale, nah, no way that could be related.

 

Then of course we have the Euro idiots in NATO being convince the Russians are about to invade, coincidentally of course it has also been suggested they need to increase their defense spending. No, couldn't possibly be related.

[nausea]

14 minutes ago, Rancid said:

Then of course we have the Euro idiots in NATO being convince the Russians are about to invade

Would agree with that sentiment, I think Russia just wants to secure it's borders; actually, come to think of it, a bit like China with N. Korea; what happened in The Ukraine was totally predictable and bl**ding obvious to anyone with half a brain.

[Cory1848]

1 hour ago, Rancid said:

Was reading Trump now says a diplomatic solution the best way. This came shortly after S Korea agreeing to a multi-billion dollar arms purchase from the US. Obviously though the N Korea problem was never ratcheted up just to get a huge arms sale, nah, no way that could be related.

 

Then of course we have the Euro idiots in NATO being convince the Russians are about to invade, coincidentally of course it has also been suggested they need to increase their defense spending. No, couldn't possibly be related.

That pretty much gets to the crux of it, doesn’t it. But why stop there? I think US arms manufacturers are missing out on a huge market in North Korea itself -- after all, the NK leadership has been quite ready to spend billions on arms while the country’s population survives on a diet of grass and field mice, while the US arms industry has demonstrated utter lack of scruples in who they sell to. It’s a win-win -- the North Koreans get the best stuff, and in the USA, it’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs! (Plus wealthy shareholders of course.) If in the end the US decides to blow North Korea to smithereens after all, well, just make sure they pay up front.

[fanof3d]

Can only "consult" and "negotiate" for so long.  NK doesn't seem to care about sanctions but let's hope the UN places even tougher sanctions on them and that China takes a more active role in this.  Kim Jong Un is a loose cannon.

 

Here's an interesting site that gives a bit of history about NK's missiles and nuclear program if anyone is interested. Will be interesting to see how this play's out over the next 6 months.

Edited September 7, 2017 by fanof3d
fix spacing.

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, nausea said:

Would agree with that sentiment, I think Russia just wants to secure it's borders; actually, come to think of it, a bit like China with N. Korea; what happened in The Ukraine was totally predictable and bl**ding obvious to anyone with half a brain.

 

Russia wants to secure it borders - sure. It's just its idea of where those borders are is a little different to everyone else's!

 

China - guess you missed the expansion, grabbing and artificial island building going on in the South China see then? 

 

North Korea - who the hell knows what a lunatic who has his own brother murdered at an international airport is thinking?

[IAMHERE]

The NK must have some of the very best brains in the World. The Irainians haven't a bomb and have much more money than NK. I have to think God wants NK to  have nuclear arms or China/Russia is helping them.

Quote

Quote

 

 

 

[Thaidream]

As much as I do not agree with Donald Trump or his politics- there is no way the current NK situation was manufactured to sell more arms to South Korea. Please read the entire history of the Korean War and the United nations Command that was formed to stop NK aggression. To this day, there is no peace treaty that has been signed only an armistice. Throughout the years, NK has done everything it could do to harass the United States and South Korea to include seizing a US ship in International waters; killing many South Koreans on raids into South Korea; digging huge tunnels into the Demilitarized Zone to use as an invasion route; holding Americans in NK  on false charges and continually lying and cheating on every concession the US and South Korea has made.

 

There is no equivalency between NK and America.  One is a rogue state rruled by a brutal dictator who subjugates its own people to be able to channel money into a nuclear weapons program that it is threatening to unleash. In  America, while we have a President, that many would criticize, is a  democracy. At least we can vote every 4 years and remove Trump if that is the will of the people. Try having demonstrations in NK about removing Kim and see what happens.  

 

As far as Europe is concerned, it was Russia who invaded the Crimea not America.  It was Russia who has interfered in many elections on the European Continent as well as in America's election.  The US does not need to manufacture any type of incident in Europe in the hopes of arms sales but why should American taxpayers subsidize NATO which protects Europe while Europeans enjoy the benefits of a higher standard of living.  Europe agreed to spend 2% of its budgets to protect Europe from any invasion be it Russian; Chinese or a missile attack from Iran.  It is the Europeans who have allowed unfettered Immigration from the Middle East that has destabilized its Nation States and threatened its culture and allowed terrorists in its midst. You might want to ask the German Chancellor why she did it and to what end or why England has areas in its country where its own citizens are not welcome and are harassed.

 

The United states has made a lot of mistakes in its history and I, for one, have always called out my country when its policies in such places like Vietnam; Iraq and Afghanistan as well as domestic issues have gone against both national and world interests. However, putting the blame on the US for the Korean situation is completely wrong and shows a lack of understanding what the actual issues are.

[SirBuwanaDogbossKing]

2 hours ago, Thaidream said:

As much as I do not agree with Donald Trump or his politics- there is no way the current NK situation was manufactured to sell more arms to South Korea. Please read the entire history of the Korean War and the United nations Command that was formed to stop NK aggression. To this day, there is no peace treaty that has been signed only an armistice. Throughout the years, NK has done everything it could do to harass the United States and South Korea to include seizing a US ship in International waters; killing many South Koreans on raids into South Korea; digging huge tunnels into the Demilitarized Zone to use as an invasion route; holding Americans in NK  on false charges and continually lying and cheating on every concession the US and South Korea has made.

 

There is no equivalency between NK and America.  One is a rogue state rruled by a brutal dictator who subjugates its own people to be able to channel money into a nuclear weapons program that it is threatening to unleash. In  America, while we have a President, that many would criticize, is a  democracy. At least we can vote every 4 years and remove Trump if that is the will of the people. Try having demonstrations in NK about removing Kim and see what happens.  

 

As far as Europe is concerned, it was Russia who invaded the Crimea not America.  It was Russia who has interfered in many elections on the European Continent as well as in America's election.  The US does not need to manufacture any type of incident in Europe in the hopes of arms sales but why should American taxpayers subsidize NATO which protects Europe while Europeans enjoy the benefits of a higher standard of living.  Europe agreed to spend 2% of its budgets to protect Europe from any invasion be it Russian; Chinese or a missile attack from Iran.  It is the Europeans who have allowed unfettered Immigration from the Middle East that has destabilized its Nation States and threatened its culture and allowed terrorists in its midst. You might want to ask the German Chancellor why she did it and to what end or why England has areas in its country where its own citizens are not welcome and are harassed.

 

The United states has made a lot of mistakes in its history and I, for one, have always called out my country when its policies in such places like Vietnam; Iraq and Afghanistan as well as domestic issues have gone against both national and world interests. However, putting the blame on the US for the Korean situation is completely wrong and shows a lack of understanding what the actual issues are.

here, here, nail on the head

[craigt3365]

6 hours ago, Rancid said:

Then of course we have the Euro idiots in NATO being convince the Russians are about to invade, coincidentally of course it has also been suggested they need to increase their defense spending. No, couldn't possibly be related.

The Russians did invade. Just ask those in Ukraine. Actions like that and the b.s. in North Korea tend to make neighboring countries increase their defense spending. Japan is doing this also.

[craigt3365]

6 hours ago, nausea said:

Would agree with that sentiment, I think Russia just wants to secure it's borders; actually, come to think of it, a bit like China with N. Korea; what happened in The Ukraine was totally predictable and bl**ding obvious to anyone with half a brain.

Securing your border means taking territory from other sovereign nations? Bloody obvious to anybody with half a brain this has nothing to do with securing their borders. LOL. What bordering nation to Russia or China can even challenge them?

[wavemanwww]

5 hours ago, Thaidream said:

As much as I do not agree with Donald Trump or his politics- there is no way the current NK situation was manufactured to sell more arms to South Korea. Please read the entire history of the Korean War and the United nations Command that was formed to stop NK aggression. To this day, there is no peace treaty that has been signed only an armistice. Throughout the years, NK has done everything it could do to harass the United States and South Korea to include seizing a US ship in International waters; killing many South Koreans on raids into South Korea; digging huge tunnels into the Demilitarized Zone to use as an invasion route; holding Americans in NK  on false charges and continually lying and cheating on every concession the US and South Korea has made.

 

There is no equivalency between NK and America.  One is a rogue state rruled by a brutal dictator who subjugates its own people to be able to channel money into a nuclear weapons program that it is threatening to unleash. In  America, while we have a President, that many would criticize, is a  democracy. At least we can vote every 4 years and remove Trump if that is the will of the people. Try having demonstrations in NK about removing Kim and see what happens.  

 

As far as Europe is concerned, it was Russia who invaded the Crimea not America.  It was Russia who has interfered in many elections on the European Continent as well as in America's election.  The US does not need to manufacture any type of incident in Europe in the hopes of arms sales but why should American taxpayers subsidize NATO which protects Europe while Europeans enjoy the benefits of a higher standard of living.  Europe agreed to spend 2% of its budgets to protect Europe from any invasion be it Russian; Chinese or a missile attack from Iran.  It is the Europeans who have allowed unfettered Immigration from the Middle East that has destabilized its Nation States and threatened its culture and allowed terrorists in its midst. You might want to ask the German Chancellor why she did it and to what end or why England has areas in its country where its own citizens are not welcome and are harassed.

 

The United states has made a lot of mistakes in its history and I, for one, have always called out my country when its policies in such places like Vietnam; Iraq and Afghanistan as well as domestic issues have gone against both national and world interests. However, putting the blame on the US for the Korean situation is completely wrong and shows a lack of understanding what the actual issues are.

Oh the great USA Guess who paid for North Korea's nuclear plants by giving them 4.5 billion dollars? Mmmm... let me check on Google Ahhh.  Answer is USA approved by Clinton. You left that out of what appeared to be a well educated response? God bless the USA in creating again another world mess. :-)

[ilostmypassword]

55 minutes ago, wavemanwww said:

Oh the great USA Guess who paid for North Korea's nuclear plants by giving them 4.5 billion dollars? Mmmm... let me check on Google Ahhh.  Answer is USA approved by Clinton. You left that out of what appeared to be a well educated response? God bless the USA in creating again another world mess. :-)

Your answer comes from fake news.   In fact. funds were advanced from several countries including the USA to help North Korea build 2 light-water nuclear reactors. Those reactors were never finished.  What you've written is pretty much a complete lie. Here's a link to politifact debunking your nonsense.

Viral image wrongly blames Bill Clinton for giving North Korea the means to make nuclear weapons

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/aug/09/viral-image/viral-image-wrongly-blames-bill-clinton-giving-nor/

 

[wavemanwww]

26 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

Your answer comes from fake news.   In fact. funds were advanced from several countries including the USA to help North Korea build 2 light-water nuclear reactors. Those reactors were never finished.  What you've written is pretty much a complete lie. Here's a link to politifact debunking your nonsense.

Viral image wrongly blames Bill Clinton for giving North Korea the means to make nuclear weapons

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/aug/09/viral-image/viral-image-wrongly-blames-bill-clinton-giving-nor/

 

What you say is true but not totally accurate. What I said was not a lie but basically we would not be in this situation in the first place if it was not for USA assisting indirectly to this maniac having what he has today. Plus the greedy republicans from your country selling this technology to the world and exporting arms. Just as Russia etc does.

 

Good example of arms trade. Ask yourself where does ISIS get it's weapons from? They do no make them. Thus they buy them. From where? Ohhh I'm sure the superpowers is my guess. What's your thoughts Lostmypassword?

 

Refer to this site which I have taken a part out and is below: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/09/history-lesson-why-did-bill-clintons-north-korea-deal-fail/?utm_term=.e3fb565c1eb2

 

Being:

"Interestingly, former Clinton administration officials have said they knew North Korea was cheating on the uranium enrichment front dating back to 1998 and planned to use that intelligence as leverage to keep the Agreed Framework in place and the plutonium under lock and key. Other Clinton administration officials will also concede that they never thought they would have to build the light-water reactors because they assumed, wrongly, that the regime would collapse before the reactors would be built".

 

So much for USA intelligence agencies and interfering in other countries disputes which the USA only makes those disputes worse. Eg Iraq Afghanistan,  Libya, Vietnam/Cambodia.

 

Plus ignorance of some politicians being worldly knowledgable  ie Bush on a visit to see Australian soldiers called them Austrians. :-) Australia /Austria mmm!

[iReason]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

"President Xi would like to do something. We'll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what's happening in North Korea,” Trump told reporters, though he offered no specifics.

"though he offered no specifics"

 

Bla, bla, bla, Fire and Fury, bla, bla, bla, like the world has never seen, bla, bla, bla,

frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.bla, bla, bla,

 

Whatta blowhard.

Yawn...

 

No 'fire and fury' as Trump team talks North Korea with Congress

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford held classified briefings on North Korea and Afghanistan for the entire House of Representatives and Senate."

 

"Lawmakers said the officials discussed efforts including consultations with allies, sanctions, pushing for action at the United Nations and military options."

 

"But they said the briefings’ tone was sharply different from some of Trump’s recent public statements."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-usa-congress/no-fire-and-fury-as-trump-team-talks-north-korea-with-congress-idUSKCN1BH3AB

 

And they left the dangerous man-child at the kiddies table.

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, wavemanwww said:

What you say is true but not totally accurate. What I said was not a lie but basically we would not be in this situation in the first place if it was not for USA assisting indirectly to this maniac having what he has today. Plus the greedy republicans from your country selling this technology to the world and exporting arms. Just as Russia etc does.

 

Good example of arms trade. Ask yourself where does ISIS get it's weapons from? They do no make them. Thus they buy them. From where? Ohhh I'm sure the superpowers is my guess. What's your thoughts Lostmypassword?

 

Refer to this site which I have taken a part out and is below: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/09/history-lesson-why-did-bill-clintons-north-korea-deal-fail/?utm_term=.e3fb565c1eb2

 

Being:

"Interestingly, former Clinton administration officials have said they knew North Korea was cheating on the uranium enrichment front dating back to 1998 and planned to use that intelligence as leverage to keep the Agreed Framework in place and the plutonium under lock and key. Other Clinton administration officials will also concede that they never thought they would have to build the light-water reactors because they assumed, wrongly, that the regime would collapse before the reactors would be built".

 

So much for USA intelligence agencies and interfering in other countries disputes which the USA only makes those disputes worse. Eg Iraq Afghanistan,  Libya, Vietnam/Cambodia.

 

Plus ignorance of some politicians being worldly knowledgable  ie Bush on a visit to see Australian soldiers called them Austrians. :-) Australia /Austria mmm!

"What I said was not a lie but..."

Since a lie goes to intent what you said may not have been a lie but it was definitely a falsehood,   Let me remind you again of what you wrote "Oh the great USA Guess who paid for North Korea's nuclear plants by giving them 4.5 billion dollars? Mmmm... let me check on Google Ahhh.  Answer is USA approved by Clinton." The USA was only one of many countries that contributed to funding those reactors. What's more those reactors never came on line so as far as North Korea is concerned, they were a huge waste of money.A

nd we can assume that whatever source you did get this info from was lying. So where did you get that info from and why weren't you the least bit skeptical? This and rest of your contentions leads me to suggest to you that you acquaint yourself with something called "motivated reasoning"

[craigt3365]

3 hours ago, wavemanwww said:

Oh the great USA Guess who paid for North Korea's nuclear plants by giving them 4.5 billion dollars? Mmmm... let me check on Google Ahhh.  Answer is USA approved by Clinton. You left that out of what appeared to be a well educated response? God bless the USA in creating again another world mess. :-)

Your skills with Google doesn't seem to be very good.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_North_Korean_nuclear_program

1956: The Soviet Union begins training North Korean scientists and engineers, giving them "basic knowledge" to initiate a nuclear program.[9]

 

1959: North Korea and the USSR sign a nuclear cooperation agreement.[9]

[Scott]

Some, but not all, off-topic posts have been removed.   Please stay on topic.