Wednesday, April 5, 2017

U.S. Warns Clock Has ‘Run Out’ on North Korea



Days before President Trump hosts his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, a top U.S. official warned Tuesday that “the clock has run out” on decades of diplomatic efforts to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, and military action may ultimately be necessary, reports Yahoo News.

“The clock has now run out, and all options are on the table for us,” the official told reporters at a briefing held on condition that he not be identified by name.

Hours after those remarks were reported, North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the waters off its east coast, according to South Korean officials.

Trump will host Xi late this week at his Mar-a-Lago.

What Xi tells Trump may be pivotal as to whether Trump decides to launch an attack against North Korea. Trump believes China has enough influence over the wacky North Korean leader, Kim Jung-un, to get him halt his missile development program, through aggressive sanctions.

It is not clear, however, if it would be in China's interest to help the United States.  Beijing doesn’t want North Korea to collapse, which would potentially send refugees streaming into China, to say nothing of raising doubts about the security of the country’s nuclear weapons. It also doesn’t want North and South Korea to reunite, fearing that the result would be a U.S.-aligned country on its borders.

And following the North Korean missile launch, the U.S. State Department issued this statement:



-RW 


4 comments:

  1. What's up with this official's name not being released? Shouldn't We the People know who is saying "The clock has now run out"?

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  2. Let's hope the "clock hasn't run out" on the record of 72 years, and counting, without the use of nuclear weapons in war. Are the residents of Seoul, in the north's cross-hairs, as enthusiastic as Trump is about ramping up tensions to the brink, I wonder?

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  3. Me thinks Trump is in search of some War-President approval ratings. And what better target than the universally disliked North Koren regime?

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  4. You know who's not going to fight in Korea? This guy.

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