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As Donald Trump and Xi Jinping began to build a relationship over a cordial state dinner Thursday evening, the two leaders may have encountered the tough crouton of North Korea in their Caesar salads.
Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile provocations were already on the U.S. agenda ahead of Trump’s first summit with Xi, but in a possible bid to spoil the meeting, Kim Jong Un test-launched a ballistic missile early Wednesday.
U.S. and South Korean officials deemed the test a failure, but it was also the kind of behavior the world has come to expect from North Korea when it wants to raise the stakes on the peninsula.
Ahead of the summit, Trump expressed his frustrations about North Korea and indirectly warned China the United States would act independently if Beijing did not apply more pressure on Pyongyang.
But after the missile test was confirmed, U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson offered little public information on next steps, while saying the United States had “spoken enough†about North Korea.
The brevity of the secretary’s remarks was matched by the equal lack of response from Beijing, where the government has become increasingly distant from Pyongyang.
Behind the scenes, however, the Trump administration worked around the clock to reassure allies and coordinate potential measures.
Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, came to an agreement with his Seoul counterpart to coordinate on new measures at the United Nations Security Council and continue onward with THAAD deployment despite warnings from China and Russia.
Trump spoke to Japan’s Shinzo Abe on the phone and pledged increased military support.
North Korea’s missile failures have grown in recent weeks, but U.S. and South Korea officials remain ever more vigilant.
South Korea said it successfully tested a cruise missile that can potentially strike all areas of North Korea, and Seoul worked with the United States and Japan during an anti-submarine exercise.
While North Korea never mentioned the failed missile test, the state did double down on its belligerent rhetoric on Thursday, saying the United States will be held responsible if war erupts on the peninsula, regardless of who initiates provocations.
Elizabeth Shim, a native of Seoul, South Korea, covers Asia for UPI. She is a member of the U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholars Program, an initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Korea Chair in Washington, D.C., and the University of Southern California’s Korean Studies Institute. Read more of her stories here.
As Donald Trump and Xi Jinping began to build a relationship over a cordial state dinner Thursday evening, the two leaders may have encountered the tough crouton of North Korea in their Caesar salads.
Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile provocations were already on the U.S. agenda ahead of Trump’s first summit with Xi, but in a possible bid to spoil the meeting, Kim Jong Un test-launched a ballistic missile early Wednesday.
U.S. and South Korean officials deemed the test a failure, but it was also the kind of behavior the world has come to expect from North Korea when it wants to raise the stakes on the peninsula.
Ahead of the summit, Trump expressed his frustrations about North Korea and indirectly warned China the United States would act independently if Beijing did not apply more pressure on Pyongyang.
But after the missile test was confirmed, U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson offered little public information on next steps, while saying the United States had “spoken enough†about North Korea.
The brevity of the secretary’s remarks was matched by the equal lack of response from Beijing, where the government has become increasingly distant from Pyongyang.
Behind the scenes, however, the Trump administration worked around the clock to reassure allies and coordinate potential measures.
Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, came to an agreement with his Seoul counterpart to coordinate on new measures at the United Nations Security Council and continue onward with THAAD deployment despite warnings from China and Russia.
Trump spoke to Japan’s Shinzo Abe on the phone and pledged increased military support.
North Korea’s missile failures have grown in recent weeks, but U.S. and South Korea officials remain ever more vigilant.
South Korea said it successfully tested a cruise missile that can potentially strike all areas of North Korea, and Seoul worked with the United States and Japan during an anti-submarine exercise.
While North Korea never mentioned the failed missile test, the state did double down on its belligerent rhetoric on Thursday, saying the United States will be held responsible if war erupts on the peninsula, regardless of who initiates provocations.
Elizabeth Shim, a native of Seoul, South Korea, covers Asia for UPI. She is a member of the U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholars Program, an initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Korea Chair in Washington, D.C., and the University of Southern California’s Korean Studies Institute. Read more of her stories here.
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