Xi Jinping urges Trump to use 'restraint' over North Korea, report says
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President Donald Trump said North Korea is ‘as reassured as they can feel’ following threats issued this week between the White House and North Korea. (August 11)
AP
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged President Trump to use restraint over the growing tension between the U.S. North Korea in a phone call late Friday, Chinese state media reported.
According to China’s Xinhua news agency, Xi said he hoped that the relevant parties “should avoid remarks and actions that could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Xi also stressed that China shares common interests with the U.S. in “achieving denuclearization” and maintaining “peace and stability” in the region, Xinhua reported. Â
Trump, who has pressured China to influence North Korea to halt their nuclear weapons program, tweeted Friday that “military solutions” are “fully in place, locked and loaded” after the reclusive nation said it was writing a plan to fire missiles toward the western Pacific island of Guam, a U.S. territory.
China is Pyongyang’s most important ally.
More: Stay calm about North Korea threat, Guam mental health experts advise
Related: ‘Locked and loaded’: Military options Trump might choose in a war with North Korea
On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the situation on the Korean Peninsula “is complex and sensitive” and also backed the use of diplomacy.
“The Chinese side hopes all related parties will exercise caution in their words and actions and make greater efforts to alleviate the tense situation and enhance mutual trust, while not traveling the old path of making displays of strength and constantly exacerbating the situation,†Geng said in a statement Friday.
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A photo made available by the U.S. Air Force on Aug. 9, 2017, shows a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., preparing to take off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for a 10-hour mission, flying in the vicinity of Kyushu, Japan, the East China Sea, and the Korean peninsula on Aug. 8, 2017.Â
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In a call that went viral, Trump spoke with Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo over the phone, telling the island lawmaker that “we are with you 1,000 percent.”
Trump’s Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly first called Calvo, assuring him that the White House is tracking the North Korea threats and that Guam is well protected, the governor’s office said.
“As the governor representing the people of Guam, and as an American citizen, I’ve never felt so safe, or felt more confident, with you at the helm,” Calvo told Trump. “With all the criticism going on over there, from a guy that’s being targeted, we need a guy like you.”
“They should have had me eight years ago, or at least, somebody with my thought process,” Trump said. “Frankly, you could have said that about the last three presidents.”Â
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As President Donald Trump assured Gov. Eddie Calvo the U.S. was behind Guam “1,000 percent,” the governor said: I’ve never felt so safe, or felt more confident, with you at the helm.”
Courtesy of the governor’s office
Contributing:Â Masako Watanabe of the Pacific Daily News