President Donald Trump has warned the Kim Jong-un regime that it would be a “sad day” for North Korea if it does not mend its ways and compels Washington to resort to military action by persisting with its nuclear push.
“Hopefully we’re not going to have to use it (military action) on North Korea. If we do use it on North Korea, it will be a very sad day for North Korea,” Trump told a White House news conference on Thursday, noting: “I can tell you that North Korea is behaving badly, and it’s got to stop.”
After an initial comment that he would rather avoid military action, Trump told a questioner: “Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitableIJ Nothing is inevitable. It would be great if something else could be worked out. We would have to look at all of the details, all of the facts.”
Taking potshots at his own predecessors, Trump said: “We’ve had Presidents for 25 years now - they’ve been talking, talking, talking -- and the day after an agreement is reached, new work begins in North Korea, continuation on nuclear.”
“So I would prefer not going the route of the military, but it’s something certainly that could happen,” he said, touting the US military’s growing strength. “Our military has never been stronger…It’s been tens of billions of dollars more in investment. And each day new equipment is delivered — new and beautiful equipment, the best in the world, the best anywhere in the world, by far.”
Trump refused to go into a question on whether a nuclearised North Korea but one that is contained and deterred would be acceptable to him, commenting brusquely: “I don’t put my negotiations on the table. Unlike past administrations, I don’t talk to them. But I can tell you that North Korea is behaving badly, and it’s got to stop.”
The Trump administration has been putting out mixed messages on how it would be dealing with the Kim Jong-un regime that has brushed aside all warnings and sanctions and has gone on with its nuclear and long-range missile tests.
While Trump himself threatened North Korea a month ago with “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued holding out threats to the United States, senior members of his administration have sought to keep the door open for a diplomatic solution.
Trump, who was addressing a joint news conference with visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, said he would be willing to mediate in the dispute involving Qatar and its other Arab neighbours.
“If I can help mediate between Qatar and, in particular, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I would be willing to do so, and I think you would have a deal worked out very quickly,” Trump said.