Trump calls for firm response to North Korea, targets Seoul on trade

Reuters ^ | July 1, 2017 | David Brunnstrom and Lisa Lambert

[TigerLikesRooster]

Trump calls for firm response to North Korea, targets Seoul on trade

By David Brunnstrom and Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called for a determined response to North Korea after talks with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in on Friday where he stressed the importance of their alliance but took aim at Seoul over trade and sharing the cost of defence.

Trump said the United States was renegotiating what he characterized as a "rough" trade deal with South Korea agreed to five years ago by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and reiterated that an era of "strategic patience" over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs had ended.

"Together we are facing the threat of the reckless and brutal regime in North Korea," Trump said as he stood alongside Moon in the White House Rose Garden. "The nuclear and ballistic missile programs of that regime require a determined response."

[TigerLikesRooster]

Trump is preempting Moon to say one thing to U.S. and do the opposite once returning home. I am pretty sure one of their overriding agendas is to give N. Korea enough time and support to finish their ICBM and nuclear weapons' program. Moon and his cohorts package themselves as just another bunch of garden-variety liberals, but that is not the case. Many in his inner circle were die-hard Juche left operatives. Their reflex won't change.

[TigerLikesRooster]

P!

[sheehan]

just a matter of time before Trump hits fatso Kim, they are going to do something stupid. Trump will never forget Otto.

[Jet Jaguar]

Bump.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Pat Buchanan’s ideas on this subject are most interesting. That plus Paul Craig Roberts

[chuckee]

Moon is the Bernie Sanders of Korea. The fact that he was a “human rights” lawyer in Korea tells you something. He and Trump are on totally different pages when it comes to NK with Moon wanting to return to the failure of strategic patience and bribing NK with food aid and Trump wanting to sanction them and potentially threaten military action. SK needs us. We don’t need SK to protect our national interest. So Moon can take a hike.

[Noob1999]

I think that Moon and China’s Xi need to be convinced that the US and others will provide food and infrastructure to NK after its demise so that millions of oppressed will not beat down their borders once fat boy and his followers are history.

[TigerLikesRooster]

If flood of refugees is only thing holding up any progress in N. Korean problem, we would have had workable arrangement by now. While it is an important issue, it is used as a rationale to hold up the process.