Trump warns North Korea not to 'try us' with nuclear weapons
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Speaking in South Korea, President Trump says he’s seeing some progress with North Korea and notes, “I think they understand we have unparalleled strength.”
USA TODAY
SEOUL — Arguing that the world cannot tolerate a “rogue regime” that threatens “nuclear devastation,” President Trump called on all countries Wednesday to ratchet up economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea and demand that Kim Jong Un’s government give up nuclear weapons.
“All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea” and deny it economic support or diplomatic acceptance, Trump told the South Korean National Assembly in a formal address that included repeated warnings to Kim’s government.
“I hope I speak not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations, when I say to the North: Do not underestimate us, and do not try us,” Trump told South Korean legislators. “We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction. We will not be intimidated.”
Trump spoke just a few hours after he tried to visit the Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea, only to be foiled by fog that kept his helicopter grounded. After his address, Trump continued his Asia tour and headed to a country that is key to his anti-North Korea coalition: China.
In the Seoul speech beamed to a global audience, Trump made several self-references, including the fact that the speech fell on the one-year anniversary of his election. In praising South Korea’s contributions to the world, Trump mentioned its many world-class golfers, and stressed that some of them played at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open held at the president’s club in Bedminster, N.J.
Getting ready to make a major speech to the National Assembly here in South Korea, then will be headed to China where I very much look forward to meeting with President Xi who is just off his great political victory.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2017
In condemning Kim for its brutal regime and nuclear threats, Trump heralded the longtime U.S. alliance with South Korea, including the sacrifices made during the civil war on the Korean Peninsula in the early 1950s.
Linking the Korean War to today’s nuclear challenges, Trump said, “We will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here, on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure.”
While condemning North Korea as a living hell, Trump also avoided the trash-talking he has previously employed against North Korea. He did not call Kim “Rocket Man,” nor did he promise “fire and fury” if North Korea moved against the United States or it allies.
As he has previously on this Asia trip, Trump broached the idea of negotiations with North Korea, pledging “a path to a much better future” if it gives up nuclear weapon programs and stops making threats.
The speech earned positive initial reviews, though analysts said it remains to be seen whether other countries follow up on Trump’s demands.
“Amazingly, Trump stuck to the script, gave a powerful speech and offered a carrot to NK while waving a big stick,” tweeted Martin Indykâ€, executive vice president with the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
Trump’s references to himself did not go unnoticed.
“Did he just promote his golf course in a speech broadcast worldwide?!” tweeted Walter Shaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Trump spoke just a few hours after he tried to take a surprise tour of the Demilitarized Zone that separates South and North Korea, only to be foiled by the fog.
“He’s actually pretty frustrated,” Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said after the secret trip was scrubbed, adding that a DMZ visit was “something the president wanted to do.”
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President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with families of Japanese abducted by North Korea in Tokyo Nov. 6, 2017. They are, from left in front row, Hitomi Soga, Shigeo Iizuka, Abe’s wife Akie, Abe, Trump, U.S. first lady Melania, Sakie Yokota and Akihiro Arimura. Â
First lady Melania Trump, and her Japanese counterpart Akie Abe, third from right, listen to sales manager Hajime Fukuju, left, during their visit Nov. 5, 2017, to Mikimoto Ginza Main Store, Japan’s pearl jewelry maker, at the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo.Â
President Trump, center, salutes, with first lady Melania Trump, top right, uoon arrival at the U.S. Yokota Air Base. On his first to Asia, Trump will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and Philippines for summits of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).Â
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Before Trump left for Asia, White House officials had left the DMZ off the presidential schedule, saying it wouldn’t be necessary. One official went so far as to describe a DMZ trip as “a cliche.”
But tentative plans for a visit were in the works. Sanders said South Korea President Moon Jae-in had planned to join Trump for a “historic moment” at the DMZ.
“The effort shows the strong and importance of the alliance between the two countries,” Sanders said before the visit was canceled.
Trump’s speech on North Korea highlights a Trump tour of Asia that covers Japan, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as South Korea.
The key to Trump’s plan is his next stop: China, North Korea’s neighbor and largest economic patron.
Before his appearance before the National Assembly, Trump tweeted that he was “getting ready to make a major speech” and then head “to China where I very much look forward to meeting with President Xi who is just off his great political victory.” The president was referring to the recent China Communist Party Congress that re-affirmed the power of President Xi Jinping.
After his Korean speech and before heading to China, the president and first lady Melania Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Seoul National Cemetery.
Ceremonial events mark Trump’s first day in Beijing.
The Trumps plan to have tea with President Xi  and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan. Then comes a tour of the Forbidden City, an opera performance, and a formal dinner.
Chinese officials have said their influence with Kim is limited. Some outside analysts said China likes the idea of having a North Korean thorn in the United States’ side. Xi has never met Kim, though the two leaders did exchange personal messages within the first week.
Trump also plans to lobby Russian President Vladimir Putin to move against North Korea.
The president plans to speak with Putin on the sidelines of an economic conference in Vietnam, even as a special counsel back in the United States investigates Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In many ways, the Seoul speech reflected the more diplomatic approach Trump has taken while on his trip to Asia.
“The President has thus far been very careful to avoid any reference to preventive war in his rhetoric on the trip and even suggested there could be movement on diplomacy,” said Michael J. Green, senior vice president for Asia and Japan Chair with the Center for Strategic International Studies. “He appears to be tailoring his line to fit local audiences more skillfully
Both U.S. and Korean politics intruded on Trump’s big speech.
Less than an hour before he took the stage, Trump tweeted about Election Day in the United States, distancing himself from Republican Ed Gillespie after his loss in the Virginia governor’s race.
“Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for,” Trump said in explaining away the loss, taking advantage of the new Twitter character limit. “Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!”
Just before Trump appeared in the National Assembly, security ejected a protester as he shouted support for recently impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Moon’s predecessor. His sign said: “Release innocent president Park Geun-hye.”
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US President George W. Bush, right, chats with Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, at the end of the Asian-Pacific leaders meeting in Hanoi on Nov. 19, 2006. All 21 Asia-Pacific leaders wore dresses. But only the three women, pretty in pink, had the sartorial nerve to don the hats. Each year, the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum provides world leaders with an opportunity to strut their stuff in the traditional garb of the host country for the so-called “family photo”.Â
FILE – In this July 11, 1993, file photo, U.S. President Bill Clinton takes the lens caps off a pair of binoculars at Camp Casey, July 11, 1993, from the Ouellette guard post in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the tense military border between the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea. Straddling the world’s most heavily fortified border, the Korean truce village of Panmunjom is a potentially dangerous flashpoint where North Korean soldiers hacked to death two American soldiers at the height of the Cold War. ItÂ’s also where the rival Koreas have held rare high-profile talks, and top American officials have visited to demonstrate American commitment to defending South Korea. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, File) ORG XMIT: XSEL105 [Via MerlinFTP Drop]Â
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