US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday to break his silence on the disappointing result of talks with North Korea last week, suggesting that China was exerting influence to gain leverage in trade talks.
“I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake,” Trump said in a tweet, playing up the personal relationship between himself and Kim. The US president is said to consider personal rapport between leaders as key in bilateral negotiations between nations.
“We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea. China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade-Hope Not!” Trump added.
The tweet comes amid widespread speculation in Washington that Beijing and Pyongyang might in some way coordinate to increase leverage in ongoing talks with the White House.
There was little optimism ahead of Mike Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang last week, and little clarity on exactly what he was expected to come away with. Following the trip, North Korean media lambasted what they called a “gangster-like” approach from the US, promising they would not unilaterally disarm without getting anything in return.
Trump had previously linked China’s cooperation on pressuring North Korea to the bilateral trade relationship, saying in an interview in December that “I have been soft on China because the only thing more important to me than trade is war.”
Trump also accused China at the same time of undermining the sanctions regime, claiming on Twitter that Beijing was “caught RED HANDED.”
Caught RED HANDED – very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2017
“Very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!” Trump wrote. The US president expressed a similarly skeptical attitude towards China’s cooperation in July of last year.
Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us – but we had to give it a try!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2017
For the first year of his presidency, while he drummed up support from Beijing for several rounds of increasingly harsh sanctions on North Korea, Trump remained subdued in his challenges to China on trade. The first major follow through on a trade threat directed unilaterally at China coincided with Pompeo’s meeting in North Korea last week, adding to speculation that China may be trying to leverage its position as the final guarantor of economic pressure on Pyongyang in trade talks with the US.
LOL. This guy. Perhaps US deserves him.
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Please don’t blame us. Blame the 『Kim-Trump bashers of America』. This group (crocodilians of the AMERICAN SWAMP) don’t want peace with Asia. They wanted Asia to be at Ameruca’s knees and on a leash just as Japan and South Korea is and that’s not going to happen.
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I wouldn’t laugh about this, period.
They (crocodilians) have forced Trump into a corner. The only way Trump is going to survive this is to give way to the swamp and appease the wish’s of the swamp he was going to drain.
As such, there will be trouble in the Korean Peninsula and there will be trouble in the South China Sea, and, naturally…
The Indians are going to jump on the opportunity in the Indian Ocean region.
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Who is listening to Trump? US starts tarrif against Chinese goods and the expects China to help them with N.Korea deal. Be real! Who will do this? Only a fool can expect this.
So in your considered view Trump should back off and leave China alone to continue stealing American intellectual property rights?
At the end of the day, China has a lot more to lose in this trade war. When the West refuses to play ball in support of China’s BRI, then America hits China with $200Bn tariffs, China will come crawling back to the negotiating table. And they will bring North Korea in tow.
NORTH KOREA MUST END ITS ISOLATIPN BY JOINING THE WORLD COMMUNOTU. HE SHOULD NOT GIVE A HARD LIFE TO ITS PEOPLE.FORGET PAST TO MAKE FUTURE SAFE FOR ECO. GROWTH.
Jn Githinji u are not serious. U think d Europeans will support your evil countr
But will never bow to evil ciuntry
You try to hurting china and you ask them help. What a stupid… we asian want peace, we will stop us arogancy to asian.