WASHINGTON, Oct 12: US President Donald Trump has said that he has a different approach on North Korea’s recent missile and nuclear tests, asserting that the problem has reached a point where “something has to be done”.
North Korea has fired 22 missiles, including two across Japan, during 15 tests since February this year, drawing a sharp reaction from the US and its allies.
“I think I might have a somewhat different attitude and a different way than other people. I think perhaps I feel stronger and tougher on that subject than other people, but I listen to everybody,” Trump told reporters in a joint media appearance with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau at his Oval Office yesterday.
“Ultimately, I will do what is right for the United States and really, what is right for the world. Because that is really a world problem; that is beyond just the United States,” he said.
Responding to a question, the US president said it is a problem that has to be solved.
Later at night, Trump told Fox News that the world has reached a situation on North Korea where something has to be done.
“This should have been handled 25 years ago, it should have been handled 20 years ago, and 10 years ago, and five years ago,” he said.
“It should have been handled by numerous – not just (former US president Barack) Obama, but certainly president Obama should have taken care of it. Now it is at a point where it is very, very far advanced. Something has to be done. We can not allow this to happen,” Trump said.
Meanwhile Republican Congressman Ted Yoho told CNN that the goal is to put sanctions on North Korea, have the world buy into it, bring them to the negotiating table, and get a diplomatic end to this.
“All North Korea has to do is look at the satellites at night and compare South Korea to North Korea. You can see what a democracy and a market economy does, and you can contrast that with Vietnam, who we were at war with, with the Vietnam War. They embraced market economies.
“They are a communist state, but they are our 16th largest trading partners,” Yoho said.
“Neither country has a nuclear weapon. So nuclear weapons is not the answer. Economic trade and let’s work on those things that we can agree on and then put the nuclear weapons away,” he added.
The Trump administration along with the UN has been at the forefront of a drive to impose economic sanctions on the globally isolated North Korean regime for its nuclear ambitions which have threatened the world peace.
Trump has engaged in an escalating war of words with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un amid rising tensions between the two countries. Trump has even said that diplomatic efforts have not worked in dealing with North Korea. (PTI)
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