Trump pledges to act 'very strongly' on North Korea missile threat

[webfact]

Trump pledges to act 'very strongly' on North Korea missile threat

By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton

 

U.S. President Donald Trump listens as South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivers a statement from the Rose Garden after meetings at the White House in Washington, U.S. June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/Files

 

WARSAW (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Thursday to confront North Korea "very strongly" following its latest missile test and urged nations to show Pyongyang there would be consequences for its weapons programme.

 

North Korea on Tuesday test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that some experts believe has the range to reach Alaska and Hawaii and perhaps the U.S. Pacific Northwest. North Korea said it could carry a large nuclear warhead.

 

Speaking at a news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Trump said North Korea was "a threat, and we will confront it very strongly".

 

He said the United States was considering "severe things" for North Korea, but that he would not draw a "red line" of the kind that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had drawn but not enforced on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

 

Trump added: "... they are behaving in a very, very dangerous manner and something will have to be done."

 

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the missile test in itself did not bring the parties closer to a war and stressed that America's focus was on diplomatic efforts to pressure Pyongyang.

 

"We stand ready to provide (military) options if they are necessary. But this is a purely diplomatically led (effort)," Mattis told a small group of reporters at the Pentagon.

 

"Diplomacy has not failed ... Diplomatic efforts remain underway as we speak."

 

The issue presents Trump, who took office in January, with perhaps his biggest foreign policy challenge and has put pressure on his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Trump had pressed without success to rein in Pyongyang.

 

China on Thursday called for restraint and made clear it did not want to be targeted by U.S. sanctions.

 

Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said that while China would implement relevant U.N. resolutions, "the U.S. should not use their domestic laws as excuses to levy sanctions against Chinese financial institutions".

 

Russia objected on Thursday to U.N. Security Council condemnation of the North Korean rocket launch because the U.S.-drafted statement referred to it as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), diplomats said.

 

Moscow has said it believes Pyongyang fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Tuesday, while China has not identified the rocket launched. North Korea said it tested an ICBM and the United States said that was likely true.

 

"BAD BEHAVIOUR"

 

Trump flew to Hamburg on Thursday to attend a summit of leaders of Group of 20 developed nations, and was due to meet with Xi there.

 

His frustration that Beijing has not done more to clamp down on North Korea prompted him to tweet on Wednesday: "Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us - but we had to give it a try!"

 

Trump did not mention China in his remarks in Poland but his message that other countries needed to do more was clearly meant for Beijing.

 

"President Duda and I call on all nations to confront this global threat and publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences for their very, very bad behaviour," he said.

 

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday the United States would propose new U.N. sanctions in coming days, and that if Russia and China did not support the move, then "we will go our own path".

 

Some diplomats say Beijing has not been fully enforcing existing international sanctions on its neighbour and has resisted tougher measures, such as an oil embargo, bans on the North Korean airline and guest workers, and measures against Chinese banks and other firms doing business with the North.

 

U.S. officials have said the United States might seek unilaterally to sanction more Chinese companies that do business with North Korea, especially banks, echoing a tactic it used to pressure Iran to curb its nuclear programme.

 

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington, Marcin Goettig in Warsaw and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Kevin Liffey and James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-07

[tonray]

Yet another pledge he won't keep.....so much winning, I can't stand it

[darksidedog]

Interesting attitude from Trump, no wild threats and very unlike his normal bellicose rhetoric. I think he has come to realise that if China isn't 100% behind any initiative, that he really has very few options left open to him, and is at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.

[tonray]

23 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Interesting attitude from Trump, no wild threats and very unlike his normal bellicose rhetoric. I think he has come to realise that if China isn't 100% behind any initiative, that he really has very few options left open to him, and is at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.

 

 

I think he is considering having North Korean prison camp guests to make  shoes and handbags for Ivanka. Win-Win. 

 

The reality is he never thought about any of this, he used to call up Fox and Friends years ago and rant about this and that but those rants are exactly what he is saying now....he has put zero thought into world affairs.

[scorecard]

51 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Interesting attitude from Trump, no wild threats and very unlike his normal bellicose rhetoric. I think he has come to realise that if China isn't 100% behind any initiative, that he really has very few options left open to him, and is at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.

 

Maybe also he will eventually realize that he cannot tell other countries what to do.

 

It seems he never gets far away from his TV show:

 

-I own the show,

-I own the camera,

-I can and will say whatever I want because I have the circumstances to intimidate and i will intimidate and I don't care,

-Every body has to do what I say, without question.

 

It will bounce back at him.  

 

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by scorecard

[soalbundy]

Oooooh he will double his tweets against NK , wicked.

Why not try something different, ignore Kim, ignore his missiles (he's not going to use them anyway) and stop all food supplies to NK, let the Chinese sort the mess out on their door step.

Edited July 7, 2017 by soalbundy

[boomerangutang]

Translation:  Trump will be a wet noodle re; N.Korea.

 

Look at every claim Trump has made for the past year.  How many has he switched to declare the opposite?  About 100%.   Trump and Thaksin share more than being incredibly selfish and money-crazed, they also both  have the dubious distinction of often making statements that are 180 degrees opposed to the truth. 

[boomerangutang]

45 minutes ago, tonray said:

I think he is considering having North Korean prison camp guests to make  shoes and handbags for Ivanka. Win-Win.  The reality is he never thought about any of this, he used to call up Fox and Friends years ago and rant about this and that but those rants are exactly what he is saying now....he has put zero thought into world affairs.

Well come on, give the guy some credit.  He's given a bit of thought, particularly with Bannon whispering in his ear.  Trump gives as much thought to world affairs, as you or I give to deciding which type of topping to get at a pizza place.

[boomerangutang]

19 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Oooooh he will double his tweets against NK , wicked.

Why not try something different, ignore Kim, ignore his missiles (he's not going to use them anyway) and stop all food supplies to NK, let the Chinese sort the mess out on their door step.

                  Not sure I agree with stopping all food supplies.  Americans don't have tangible problems with the N.Korean people (except maybe their 1 million man military), but rather the problem is with the cancer at the top of their pyramid.

 

                   If you or I were to visit N.Korea and were able to meet some of the regular people (I know, nearly impossible, with the 'Minders' that visitors are required to have) ......we would likely feel as much kinship and possibly even compassion for them, as much as we'd feel for Cambodians, Kenyans, Icelanders, or any other folks.

[tonray]

5 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

                  Not sure I agree with stopping all food supplies.  Americans don't have tangible problems with the N.Korean people (except maybe their 1 million man military), but rather the problem is with the cancer at the top of their pyramid.

 

                   If you or I were to visit N.Korea and were able to meet some of the regular people (I know, nearly impossible, with the 'Minders' that visitors are required to have) ......we would likely feel as much kinship and possibly even compassion for them, as much as we'd feel for Cambodians, Kenyans, Icelanders, or any other folks.

I have never felt any compassion for the Icelanders...except maybe the fact that their booze is so expensive.

[soalbundy]

19 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

                  Not sure I agree with stopping all food supplies.  Americans don't have tangible problems with the N.Korean people (except maybe their 1 million man military), but rather the problem is with the cancer at the top of their pyramid.

 

                   If you or I were to visit N.Korea and were able to meet some of the regular people (I know, nearly impossible, with the 'Minders' that visitors are required to have) ......we would likely feel as much kinship and possibly even compassion for them, as much as we'd feel for Cambodians, Kenyans, Icelanders, or any other folks.

They won't starve, the people would rebel, possible reunification with the South, China couldn't allow that so they would take up the slack with food supplies, that would really annoy them. By ignoring NK it becomes China's problem

[little mary sunshine]

It's about time somebody did.....crazy

bast***with nukes vowing to destroy 

USA and S Korea. Take HIM out!

[Dave67]

Very Strongly or very very strongly ?

[blackson]

maybe USA and other countries will have to accept a nuclear armed N Korea as a fact of life, the alternatives "on the table" are far to egregious to the region.

 

Perhaps the fat Korean nutcase should be whacked ASAP at the first reasonable opportunity.

[attrayant]

41 minutes ago, little mary sunshine said:

It's about time somebody did.....crazy

bast***with nukes vowing to destroy 

USA and S Korea. Take HIM out!

 

Spoken like somebody who lives nowhere near the 38th parallel.

[Dave67]

Just now, attrayant said:

 

Spoken like somebody who lives nowhere near the 38th parallel.

Yes I saw BBC report yesterday apparently NK has 6000 heavy artillery pieces zeroed in on a city across the border in South Korea

[little mary sunshine]

7 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

Spoken like somebody who lives nowhere near the 38th parallel.

And will never travel near the 38th parallel!

[attrayant]

1 minute ago, little mary sunshine said:

And will never travel near the 38th parallel!

 

That's great.  But let's not make this thread about you, mkay?  By advocating a "take him out" solution, you are nonchalantly marching hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths.  Maybe millions, if Little Kim has a working nuke and decides to lob it at Seoul.

 

But at least YOU won't be there, right?

[puck2]

The situation in Korea now is very, very difficile and complicated. The Chinese condemn the N.-Koreans missile threat openly. But secretly, they are playing chess with Trump and the US. Why? There are only 4 ways to try to solve this problem:

• doing nothing, but promising to support the South Koreans and Japan – a typical Trump air bubble.

• to fight the Korean Communists militarily – a high risk because of the strong N-Korean armament, including atomic weapons.

• diplomatically engaging with the support of China – didn't work at all because of China's chess playing. That means The Chinese like to show the world, the USA are trapped. They cannot start a new (atomic) war. It's too dangerous for all parts. It could be a start of a new world war.

• isolating N-Korea or sanctions – didn't work at all as shown by Kim's behaviour.

 

Let me summarize it: Trump, no brain, but big mouth, caught in a trap. No real new idea to solve the problem.

Edited July 7, 2017 by puck2

[baboon]

1 hour ago, little mary sunshine said:

It's about time somebody did.....crazy

bast***with nukes vowing to destroy 

USA and S Korea. Take HIM out!

No, he is threatening to react if attacked himself. That does not make him in any way crazy.

Try to read the articles below the headlines...

[Jonnapat]

All talk and bluster as usual, what does he imagine he can do?

[Grubster]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Interesting attitude from Trump, no wild threats and very unlike his normal bellicose rhetoric. I think he has come to realise that if China isn't 100% behind any initiative, that he really has very few options left open to him, and is at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.

I think Trump could hurt China bad with trade barriers if he wanted but that would hurt the billionaire's that have sent the US jobs to China so I agree he has few options to use. I don't really think attacking a country that borders Russia and China is an option. We shall see what happens probably sooner than later.

[Grubster]

41 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

Spoken like somebody who lives nowhere near the 38th parallel.

Yeah I wouldn't want to be in camp Casey when that started.

[Suradit69]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

that he really has very few options left open to him, and is at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.

Whatever the outcome he'll sell it as a victory to his base in mid-America, many of whom thought the (supposedly funny) film The Interview with Seth Rogen and James Franco    was a documentary.

 

[farcanell]

Meanwhile Pyongyang announced.... President trump is behaving in a very very dangerous manner and something will have to be done!

 

 

[ballpoint]

2 hours ago, little mary sunshine said:

It's about time somebody did.....crazy

bast***with nukes vowing to destroy 

USA and S Korea. Take HIM out!

Yes, but unless he's impeached, 2020 is the soonest he can be voted out.

[jesimps]

2 hours ago, little mary sunshine said:

It's about time somebody did.....crazy

bast***with nukes vowing to destroy 

USA and S Korea. Take HIM out!

Reading the lefty comments on here, it seems like they're hoping for N Korea to nuke the US just to get one up on Pres Trump.

 

Strange people lefties, hate their own kind more than the ones trying to destroy them. Some sort of birth defect IMHO.

 

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, jesimps said:

Reading the lefty comments on here, it seems like they're hoping for N Korea to nuke the US just to get one up on Pres Trump.

 

 

Or you've got dyslexia.

[spidermike007]

Trump has very limited options. The best options are to put an extraordinary amount of pressure on the pig leaders in China. After all, they are the only reason Kim is able to get away with being a despot. In terms of a military action, it could spiral out of control very quickly. Kim is very unpredictable, and unstable mentally. If provoked, who knows what he is capable of. I think it is fairly safe to say he plays by a different set of rules!

 

China and Russia have to be very worried, with their shared borders with N. Korea. The last thing in the world they want is a major refugee crisis, which is exactly what could happen, if this escalates and their govt. is destabilized. I am not sure if there are any easy or "not terrible" solutions here. Rumor has it that Russia and China have given their silent blessing to the US, to wage cyber warfare and attempt to take out the electrical grid. But, that is just a rumor. China is in a bad position. The entire world knows they are the primary support, for this despot regime.

 

“You have this massive agglomeration of everything that is important in South Korea — government, business and the huge population — and all of it is in this gigantic megalopolis that starts 30 miles from the border and ends 70 miles from the border,” said Robert E. Kelly, a professor of political science at Pusan National University in South Korea. “In terms of national security, it’s just nuts.”

North Korea has positioned as many as 8,000 artillery cannons and rocket launchers on its side of the Demilitarized Zone, analysts say, an arsenal capable of raining up to 300,000 rounds on the South in the first hour of a counterattack. That means it can inflict tremendous damage without resorting to weapons of mass destruction.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/world/asia/north-korea-south-us-nuclear-war.html

 

But North Korea's generals—whose heads would be spinning after hearing they've just been attacked—will be wondering if there are more attacks coming. North Korea is obviously prepared for a quick response to the start (actually the resumption) of war on the peninsula, and it has a short window to put the hurt on the US before it loses a lot of its capabilities. If cooler heads don't prevail very quickly at command and control in Pyongyang, this becomes a real war.

 

Then, North Korea will let loose with whatever cyber weapons it's been preparing for the occasion, and no one knows how severe that might be. There could be one giant, coordinated DDOS effort to halt traffic on the South Korean internet or a pre-installed Trojan horse lying in wait to, say, brick every smartphone in South Korea. North Korea will also deploy special operations forces, some of whom are probably already walking around, not just in South Korea, Baker said, but "maybe even off on mini subs near US bases in and around Japan."

 

In South Korea, grisly images of civilian casualties will proliferate quickly thanks to social media. "There's a speed to the movement of information [that] you really haven't had in the past. You've always had the use of imagery of violence, but it's often long delayed. It's not that overwhelming real-time immediacy," Baker told me.

 

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xy93az/what-would-happen-in-the-minutes-and-hours-after-the-us-attacked-north-korea

 

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by spidermike007

[Jingthing]

53 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Reading the lefty comments on here, it seems like they're hoping for N Korea to nuke the US just to get one up on Pres Trump.

 

Strange people lefties, hate their own kind more than the ones trying to destroy them. Some sort of birth defect IMHO.

 

Total garbage accusation.

Keep in mind this is an international forum and most people posting here are NOT Americans.

This is typical of the right wing ... to suggest anyone that isn't right wing isn't a good American.

Again, total garbage.