Trump: North Korea ‘Should Have Been Taken Care
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Posted On: 02/25/2017 2:25:10 PM
Trump: North Korea ‘Should Have Been Taken Care of During the Obama Administration’
In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, President Donald Trump expressed frustration that the previous administration did not take stronger action against Pyongyang and that China refuses to bring its unruly client state to heel.
“It’s very late. We’re very angry at what he’s done, and frankly, this should have been taken care of during the Obama administration,” Trump said. He also said North Korea’s ballistic-missile and nuclear programs presented a “very dangerous situation,” and that China “can end it very quickly in my opinion.”
“I think China has tremendous control over North Korea, whether they say so or not. They could solve the problem very easily if they want to,” he elaborated.
He added criticism of China’s military buildup in the South China Sea and stressed that it would have been better for the Obama administration to deal with such issues years ago, instead of allowing them to get out of hand:
I know exactly what’s going on between China and North Korea and everybody else. But I don’t like talking about military strategy in newspapers… I’m not liking it. This didn’t take place under the Trump administration, this took place under the Obama administration. Many things took place that should not have been allowed. One of them is the building of a massive, you know, massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea.
And don’t forget I’ve only been here for four weeks. This is something that took place and has been started three years ago and you were in a much better negotiating position three years ago. I am not happy about it.
For some reason, Reuters felt obliged to cover for China in a brief editorial digression:
China has made clear that it opposes North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and has repeatedly called for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a return to negotiations between Pyongyang and world powers.
But efforts to change Pyongyang’s behavior through sanctions have historically failed, largely because of China’s fear that severe measures could trigger a collapse of the North Korean state and send refugees streaming across their border.
In other words, China is allowing a dangerous situation to fester, possibly degenerating into a massive conventional war or nuclear exchange, because it doesn’t want its border violated by refugees. Apparently, border security is an acceptable concern for China.
Trump leveled the same criticism at China last month on Twitter before his inauguration, in classic Trumpian style:
In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, President Donald Trump expressed frustration that the previous administration did not take stronger action against Pyongyang and that China refuses to bring its unruly client state to heel.
“It’s very late. We’re very angry at what he’s done, and frankly, this should have been taken care of during the Obama administration,” Trump said. He also said North Korea’s ballistic-missile and nuclear programs presented a “very dangerous situation,” and that China “can end it very quickly in my opinion.”
“I think China has tremendous control over North Korea, whether they say so or not. They could solve the problem very easily if they want to,” he elaborated.
He added criticism of China’s military buildup in the South China Sea and stressed that it would have been better for the Obama administration to deal with such issues years ago, instead of allowing them to get out of hand:
I know exactly what’s going on between China and North Korea and everybody else. But I don’t like talking about military strategy in newspapers… I’m not liking it. This didn’t take place under the Trump administration, this took place under the Obama administration. Many things took place that should not have been allowed. One of them is the building of a massive, you know, massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea.
And don’t forget I’ve only been here for four weeks. This is something that took place and has been started three years ago and you were in a much better negotiating position three years ago. I am not happy about it.
For some reason, Reuters felt obliged to cover for China in a brief editorial digression:
China has made clear that it opposes North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and has repeatedly called for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a return to negotiations between Pyongyang and world powers.
But efforts to change Pyongyang’s behavior through sanctions have historically failed, largely because of China’s fear that severe measures could trigger a collapse of the North Korean state and send refugees streaming across their border.
In other words, China is allowing a dangerous situation to fester, possibly degenerating into a massive conventional war or nuclear exchange, because it doesn’t want its border violated by refugees. Apparently, border security is an acceptable concern for China.
Trump leveled the same criticism at China last month on Twitter before his inauguration, in classic Trumpian style:
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