Trump Says the U.S. Will Deal With North Korea With or Without China’s Help

April 12, 2017

President Donald Trump has declared that the United States will deal with North Korea even if China decides not to help.

Tension escalates on the Korean peninsula as the North continues its nuclear weapons program, which China, its own ally, hopes to end. A Chinese state-run newspaper warned North Korea that it would suffer a cutoff of vital oil supplies if it ever tests nukes this week, The New York Times reported.

But on a Wednesday phone call, President Xi Jinping told President Trump that Beijing is willing to cooperate with Washington on finally ending North Korea’s nuclear activities, Fox News said. However, he specified that it wants to do so peacefully.

The call came hours after President Trump warned in tweets that Kim Jong-un’s regime is “looking for trouble” and that the U.S. would solve the North Korean problem with or without China’s help.

View post on X

China holds huge leverage over North Korea as most of the latter’s exported and imported goods pass through Beijing. Still, it cannot risk a North Korean collapse, as such would result to a tsunami of refugees pouring over their shared border. In addition, control over the country’s nuclear weapons will also be up in the air, according to ATTN.

North Korea, however, is ready for conflict. According to rumors, its sixth nuclear test in underway. Citizens are always told to be vigilant of outside threats, particularly those coming from the U.S., CNN noted. North Koreans are apparently looking at history: Americans dropped about 625,000 tons of bombs on their territory during the Korean War, taking many lives.

Just recently, the United States sent “an armada” of warships to the Korean peninsula, headed by the USS Carl Vinson. According to Reuters, Tokyo sources reported that the Japanese Navy would join the said armada in a joint show of force.

Feature Image via Flickr / Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Share this Article