Trump’s praise for NK leader’s ‘wise’ decision
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US President Donald Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un yesterday for a “wise” decision not to fire missiles toward the US territory of Guam and for easing escalating tension between the two countries.
North Korea has made no secret of its plan to develop a missile capable of firing a nuclear warhead at the United States to counter what it says are constant US threats of invasion, and tension has been rising for months.
Trump warned North Korea last week that it would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the US, prompting North Korea to say it was considering test-firing missiles toward the Pacific island of Guam.
But North Korean media reported on Tuesday that Kim had delayed the decision while he waited to see what the US did next.
“Kim Jong Un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision,” Trump tweeted. “The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!”
North Korea has long ignored warnings from the West and China to halt its nuclear and missile tests which it conducts in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
China has repeatedly called for all sides to exercise restraint, and while it has signed up for tough UN sanctions on North Korea, it says the key to a resolution lies in Washington and Pyongyang talking to each other, rather than expecting China to do all the work.
Japan conducted air maneuvers with US bombers southwest of the Korean Peninsula yesterday involving two US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flying from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and two Japanese F-15 jet fighters, Japan’s Air Self Defense Force said.
The US aircraft have flown several sorties in East Asia over recent weeks. In addition to air drills with Japanese fighters, the bombers have also exercised with South Korean aircraft.
North Korea regards the US exercises as preparations for invasion. China says they do nothing to ease tension.
Yesterday, a senior Chinese military officer reiterated the need to maintain peace and stability.
Song Puxuan, commander of China’s Northern Theater Command, also stressed to visiting Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford that the North Korean nuclear issue must be resolved politically through talks, China’s defense ministry said.
The command based in Shenyang has responsibility for a swath of north China, including the border with North Korea.
North Korea’s threat to fire toward Guam had prompted US Trump to say the US military was “locked and loaded.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a phone call with Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s minister for foreign affairs, said tension on the Korean Peninsula was showing some signs of easing but had not passed.
The parties involved should “make a correct judgment and wise choice by taking a responsible attitude toward history and people,” Wang said.
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