Trump says Kim’s weapons are endangering North Korea

US President Donald Trump (C) addresses the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017. Trump's marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president's strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP / Lee Jin-man
Updated 08 November 2017
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Trump says Kim’s weapons are endangering North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea: President Donald Trump is telling North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that the weapons he’s acquiring are putting his nation in “great danger.”
Trump delivered that message during a speech Wednesday to South Korean lawmakers in Seoul.
Trump says to Kim that the nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles he’s acquiring “are not making you safer” but “are putting your regime in great danger.”
Kim has threatened the US and its regional allies, including Japan and South Korea, with multiple weapons tests this year.
Trump recently vowed to “totally destroy” North Korea if its threats continue.

President Donald Trump is using a speech in front of the South Korean National Assembly to talk about one of his golf courses.
Trump is reminding lawmakers in the National Assembly hall on Wednesday that when the US Women’s Open was held at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, earlier this year, many South Korean players did well.
The winner, Park Sung-hyun, was South Korean — as were a number of other top finishers.
Trump has been criticized by ethics experts for failing to completely divest his assets and using the presidency to promote his hotels and golf clubs and enrich himself.

President Donald Trump is delivering a blunt warning to North Korea: “Do not underestimate us. And do not try us.”
Trump is sending the message during a speech Wednesday in Seoul to South Korea’s National Assembly.
The president says the US will not allow its cities to be threatened with destruction. He says it also won’t be intimidated by threats from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump says the world cannot tolerate the “menace” of a rogue regime that threatens it with nuclear devastation. He’s urging all “responsible nations” to unite to deny North Korea any form of support or acceptance.
A day earlier, Trump signaled a willingness to negotiate. He urged North Korea to “come to the table” and “make a deal” over its nuclear weapons program.

President Donald Trump is painting a bleak portrait of North Korea in a keynote speech to South Korean lawmakers.
Trump says life under the leadership of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “so bleak” that North Koreans bribe government officials to leave the country so they can work as slaves.
Says Trump: “They would rather be slaves than live in North Korea.”
Trump is contrasting life in the two Koreas — the democratic South and the communist North. He notes that South Korea’s economy is booming while in North Korea families live in homes without plumbing and that fewer than half of the population has electricity.
South Korea is the second stop on Trump’s five-country tour of Asia.

President Donald Trump is telling South Korea’s National Assembly that he wants “peace through strength.”
The US president is addressing South Korean lawmakers on the second day of his visit. He is noting that the US is rebuilding its military and spending heavily on the newest and finest military equipment.
Trump is calling for an international response to North Korea’s nuclear threat.

South Korean police have separated pro- and anti-Trump protesters who scuffled outside Seoul’s National Assembly shortly before the visiting US president made a speech to the country’s lawmakers.
South Korean police couldn’t immediately confirm on Wednesday whether there were any injuries. Thousands of officers were deployed at the National Assembly in Seoul to provide security and monitor the protesters.
A small American flag was seen burning on the ground beside a sign that read “No Trump No War” near the scene.
Anti-Trump demonstrators have accused Trump of raising animosity with North Korea with his fiery rhetoric. Trump’s supporters have embraced his tough stance against Pyongyang.

The White House says President Donald Trump is disappointed that his surprise trip to the DMZ was thwarted by bad weather.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells reporters, “I think he’s pretty frustrated” that he had to change his plans.
Marine One had flown most of the way from Seoul to the DMZ before turning due to poor weather conditions. Weather reports from near the DMZ showed misting conditions and visibility below one mile.
Trump had been scheduled to visit the border that for 64 years has separated the North and South with Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The White House says Trump’s trip to the DMZ had been planned well before he left for Asia, but it was kept secret due to security concerns.

President Donald Trump has scrapped a surprise visit to the Korean demilitarized zone due to poor weather.
Marine One flew most of the way from Seoul to the DMZ before turning back due to poor weather conditions.
Back at the US Army’s Yongsan Garrison, Trump prepared for his speech to South Korea’s National Assembly while awaiting a potential clearing in the weather.
Weather reports from near the DMZ showed misting conditions and visibility below one mile.
Every American president since Ronald Reagan has made a trip to the DMZ — except for George H.W. Bush, who made the trek when he served as vice president. Before Trump’s trip, a White House official had said the DMZ visits have become “a little bit of a cliché.”

President Donald Trump is hinting at a surprise announcement as he prepares to depart South Korea.
Trump says during a toast at a state dinner being held in his honor in Seoul Tuesday that, “we’re going to have an exciting day tomorrow for many reasons” that “people will find out.”
Trump is also telling attendees that the partnership between the US and South Korea has never been stronger, as the threat of the North and its nuclear program looms.
Trump says: “we’ve been proud to stand by your side for many decades as an unwavering friend and a loyal ally.” And he says South Korea has “never had a time where this ally has been more loyal or stood by your side more than right now.”

South Korea’s presidential office says US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have agreed to open “working-level” discussions between the countries over South Korea’s potential acquisition of nuclear-propelled submarines.
Moon’s office says Trump and Moon also discussed South Korea’s possible acquisition of unspecified reconnaissance assets to better cope against North Korean threats.
Moon said after his meeting with Trump that the two leaders agreed to cooperate on strengthening South Korea’s defense capabilities through the acquisition or development of advanced weapons systems.
South Korean government officials have been endorsing the nation getting nuclear-powered submarines amid calls for more military strength. There’s a growing concern among the South Korean public that North Korea’s expanding nuclear weapons arsenal, which may soon include an intercontinental ballistic missile that could target the US mainland, would undermine Seoul’s decadeslong alliance with Washington.

President Donald Trump says North Korea’s leader is “threatening millions and millions of lives so needlessly.”
Trump is speaking at a joint press conference in Seoul on Tuesday with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in.
Trump says North Korea’s missile launches “are a threat, not only to the people of South Korea, but to the people all across the globe.”
The US president is calling for “worldwide action” in response to North Korea. He says that “every responsible nation, including China and Russia” should push for an end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

South Korea’s president says he and President Donald Trump are “strongly urging” North Korea to return to a negotiating table on its nuclear and missile programs.
President Moon Jae-in says at a joint news conference with Trump on Tuesday that he and Trump agreed to apply maximized pressures and sanctions on North Korea until it returns to “sincere” talks on disarming its nuclear and missile programs.

South Korea’s president says he and President Donald Trump have finalized an earlier agreement to allow South Korea to possess more powerful missiles in the face of growing North Korean threats.
President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday the two have agreed on lifting the warhead payload limits on South Korean ballistic missiles. He says they’re also cooperating on strengthening South Korea’s defense capabilities through the acquisition or development of advanced weapons systems.
Moon says Trump also reaffirmed the “iron-clad” US security commitment for South Korea during a joint news conference with the American leader on Wednesday.
Trump is in South Korea as the second leg of his first visit to Asia.

South Korea’s leader says he and President Donald Trump have agreed to place maximized pressures and sanctions on North Korea to peacefully defuse a standoff caused by the North’s weapons programs.
But President Moon Jae-in says Tuesday that he and Trump also reaffirmed they are ready to provide North Korea with a “bright future” if the country gives ups its nuclear and missile programs.
Moon made the comments after summit talks with Trump at the South Korean presidential office of Blue House on Tuesday. Trump arrived in South Korea earlier Tuesday as the second leg of his first Asian tour.

President Donald Trump says “good progress” is happening on North Korea as he urges Pyongyang to “come to the table” and “make a deal.”
Trump is speaking at a joint news conference in Seoul with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in. Amid rising tensions with North Korea, he says: “it makes sense for North Korea to do the right thing.”
The president is not offering specifics on the type of progress being made. But Trump says it “really makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal.” He added that “I do see certain movement,” but did not offer specifics.

President Donald Trump is beginning his two-day Korean peninsula visit walking amid weapons of war but voicing optimism for peace.
His every move will be closely watched from both sides of Korea’s demilitarized zone.
Trump has repeatedly delivered combative warnings to Pyongyang as he urged it to abandon its nuclear program.
But as he began his two-day South Korean visit just three dozen miles from the heavily-fortified DMZ, he initially struck a different, more hopeful tone.
He declared that “it always works out. Has to work out.”
That echoed the sentiment of his tweet hours earlier, when he left Japan for South Korea, the second stop of his lengthy Asian trip. It is centered on pressuring North Korean dictator Kim Jong to abandon his weapons program.

President Donald Trump is beginning his two-day Korean peninsula visit walking amid weapons of war but voicing optimism for peace.
His every move will be closely watched from both sides of Korea’s demilitarized zone.
Trump has repeatedly delivered combative warnings to Pyongyang as he urged it to abandon its nuclear program.
But as he began his two-day South Korean visit just three dozen miles from the heavily-fortified DMZ, he initially struck a different, more hopeful tone.
He declared that “it always works out. Has to work out.”
That echoed the sentiment of his tweet hours earlier, when he left Japan for South Korea, the second stop of his lengthy Asian trip. It is centered on pressuring North Korean dictator Kim Jong to abandon his weapons program.


At APEC, China’s Xi warns of growing ‘unilateralism’

Updated 54 min 38 sec ago
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At APEC, China’s Xi warns of growing ‘unilateralism’

  • Xi is due to hold talks with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Saturday

LIMA: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday warned the world was entering an era of growing “unilateralism” and “protectionism,” in comments at a major Asia-Pacific trade summit in Peru.
Xi was in Lima for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and is due to hold talks with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Saturday.
“In a written speech addressing APEC CEO Summit 2024, Xi also warned of the spreading unilateralism and protectionism, and cautioned that the fragmentation of the world economy is increasing,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
In the wide-ranging speech, Xi said the world had “entered a new period of turbulence and transformation,” Xinhua reported.
In that context, he called for global industrial and supply chains to be kept “stable and smooth.”
US President-elect Donald Trump, set to take office in January, has promised a raft of protectionist trade policies, including 60 percent import tariffs targeting China, with whom he engaged in a trade war during his last term in office.
The Republican has once again signaled a confrontational approach to Beijing for his second term.
Xi said any attempts to reduce global economic interdependence was “nothing but backpedaling,” comments potentially aimed at Trump’s proposed policies on the campaign trail.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, has been reeling from headwinds on several fronts, with growth struggling to recover since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beijing is pushing for an official national growth target this year of around five percent, a goal most economists believe it will narrowly miss.
But recent weeks have seen officials announce their most aggressive measures in years in a bid to breathe fresh life into the economy.
In Lima, Xi vowed to meet the GDP growth target, and to pursue economic liberalization policies that would “open its (China’s) door even wider to the world.”


Muslims who voted for Trump upset by his pro-Israel cabinet picks

Updated 15 November 2024
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Muslims who voted for Trump upset by his pro-Israel cabinet picks

  • Muslim support for Trump helped him win Michigan and may have factored into other swing state wins, strategists believe
  • Hassan Abdel Salam, a former professor at the University of Minnesota said Trump’s staffing plans were not surprising, but had proven even more extreme that he had feared

WASHINGTON: US Muslim leaders who supported Republican Donald Trump to protest against the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon have been deeply disappointed by his Cabinet picks, they tell Reuters.
“Trump won because of us and we’re not happy with his Secretary of State pick and others,” said Rabiul Chowdhury, a Philadelphia investor who chaired the Abandon Harris campaign in Pennsylvania and co-founded Muslims for Trump.
Muslim support for Trump helped him win Michigan and may have factored into other swing state wins, strategists believe.
Trump picked Republican senator Marco Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel for Secretary of State. Rubio said earlier this year he would not call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and that he believed Israel should destroy “every element” of Hamas. “These people are vicious animals,” he added.
Trump also nominated Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and staunch pro-Israel conservative who backs Israeli occupation of the West Bank and has called a two state solution in Palestine “unworkable,” as the next ambassador to Israel.
He has picked Republican Representative Elize Stefanik, who called the UN a “cesspool of antisemitism” for its condemnation of deaths in Gaza, to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations.
Rexhinaldo Nazarko, executive director of the American Muslim Engagement and Empowerment Network (AMEEN), said Muslim voters had hoped Trump would choose Cabinet officials who work toward peace, and there was no sign of that.
“We are very disappointed,” he said. “It seems like this administration has been packed entirely with neoconservatives and extremely pro-Israel, pro-war people, which is a failure on the on the side of President Trump, to the pro-peace and anti-war movement.”
Nazarko said the community would continue pressing to make its voices heard after rallying votes to help Trump win. “At least we’re on the map.”
Hassan Abdel Salam, a former professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and co-founder of the Abandon Harris campaign, which endorsed Green Party candidate Jill Stein, said Trump’s staffing plans were not surprising, but had proven even more extreme that he had feared.
“It’s like he’s going on Zionist overdrive,” he said. “We were always extremely skeptical...Obviously we’re still waiting to see where the administration will go, but it does look like our community has been played.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Several Muslim and Arab supporters of Trump said they hoped Richard Grenell, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence, would play a key role after he led months of outreach to Muslim and Arab American communities, and was even introduced as a potential next secretary of state at events.
Another key Trump ally, Massad Boulos, the Lebanese father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, met repeatedly with Arab American and Muslim leaders.
Both promised Arab American and Muslim voters that Trump was a candidate for peace who would act swiftly to end the wars in the Middle East and beyond. Neither was immediately reachable.
Trump made several visits to cities with large Arab American and Muslim populations, include a stop in Dearborn, a majority Arab city, where he said he loved Muslims, and Pittsburgh, where he called Muslims for Trump “a beautiful movement. They want peace. They want stability.”
Rola Makki, the Lebanese American, Muslim vice chair for outreach of the Michigan Republican Party, shrugged off the criticism.
“I don’t think everyone’s going to be happy with every appointment Trump makes, but the outcome is what matters,” she said. “I do know that Trump wants peace, and what people need to realize is that there’s 50,000 dead Palestinians and 3,000 dead Lebanese, and that’s happened during the current administration.”


Trump promises to end wars with a ‘strong military’

Updated 15 November 2024
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Trump promises to end wars with a ‘strong military’

  • “We’re going to work on the Middle East and we’re going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It’s got to stop,” Trump added

PALM BEACH, United States: US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday promised a “strong military,” as he repeated his pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump, who campaigned on an “America First” foreign policy, has said previously that he wanted to strike a deal between Kyiv and Moscow, without giving details, and end bloodshed in the Middle East.
“We have to get back to a great country with low taxes and a strong military. We’re going to fix our military, we did once and now we’re going to have to do it again,” he said Thursday at a gala organized by the America First Policy Institute at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
“We’re going to work on the Middle East and we’re going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It’s got to stop,” Trump added.
He also criticized the “big chunk” of US spending on Afghanistan, from where American troops withdrew in 2021 after two decades of fighting an insurgency by the Taliban, which returned to power that year.
Trump’s re-election has the potential to upend the almost three-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine, throwing into question Washington’s multibillion-dollar support for Kyiv, which is crucial to its defense.
The Republican said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal on Ukraine or what terms he would propose.

 

 


Ukraine slams Scholz after first call with Putin in two years

Updated 15 November 2024
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Ukraine slams Scholz after first call with Putin in two years

  • “This is exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation,” Zelensky said
  • Scholz spoke with Zelensky before and after the call with Putin, the chancellor’s spokesman said, but the early warning failed to quell Kyiv’s concerns.

BERLIN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Friday accused Germany’s Olaf Scholz of playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the chancellor spoke by phone to the Kremlin chief for the first time in almost two years.
In the call, Scholz “condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops,” the chancellor’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.
The German leader “urged Russia to show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace,” Hebestreit added in a statement.
The Kremlin confirmed the call between Scholz and Putin, which it said was held at the invitation of the German side.
Putin had a “detailed and frank exchange of views over the situation in Ukraine” with Scholz, the Kremlin said.
Putin told the German leader that any agreement to end the war in Ukraine “should take into account the security interests of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin added.
An accord should “proceed from the new territorial realities and, most importantly, address the root causes of the conflict.”
Russia has demanded Ukraine surrender four regions as a precondition for talks, which Kyiv has rejected.
Ukraine responded angrily to Berlin reviving its lines of communication with Moscow. The call had opened a “Pandora’s Box,” Zelensky said.
“This is exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation,” Zelensky said.
Scholz spoke with Zelensky before and after the call with Putin, the chancellor’s spokesman said, but the early warning failed to quell Kyiv’s concerns.
“What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.
As well as Ukraine, Scholz also notified the countries of the so-called Quad, which includes France, the United States and Britain, a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said.
The chancellor’s message to Putin was not “coordinated” between the allies but the French side expected to be informed on the contents, the source said.
During the hour-long call, Scholz “condemned in particular Russian air strikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine,” a German government source said.
Scholz “made it clear that sending North Korean soldiers to Russia for combat missions against Ukraine would lead to a serious escalation and expansion of the conflict,” the source said.
The German and Russian leaders “agreed to remain in contact,” while Berlin would keep its allies updated, the source added.
Scholz will have an opportunity for discussions at a meeting of G20 leaders in Brazil next week, from which Putin will be notably absent.
Putin has spoken to few NATO and Western leaders since 2022, when the EU and the US imposed massive sanctions on Russia for launching its shock Ukraine offensive.
His last known phone call with the leader of a major Western country was his previous conversation with Scholz in December 2022.
Almost 1,000 days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine is bracing for what could be the most difficult winter of the war so far.
Much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian bombardments and Kyiv’s troops are increasingly on the back foot.
Germany has been one of Ukraine’s biggest military supporters, second only to the United States in the aid it has sent to Kyiv.
But the election of Donald Trump, who has criticized aid to Ukraine, as the next US president, has called into question Washington’s continued support.
Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Putin.
The Kremlin has denied reports that Putin and the president-elect of the United States recently discussed the Ukraine conflict by phone.
Scholz, who did speak with Trump following his election win, told the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Friday that the incoming US leader had a “more nuanced” position on the conflict than was commonly assumed.
Following the Putin-Scholz call, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had been updated by the German leader on the discussion.
Tusk was “satisfied” that Scholz had “reiterated the Polish position: ‘Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine’,” he said on social media platform X.


Croatian health minister arrested and sacked over alleged graft

Updated 15 November 2024
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Croatian health minister arrested and sacked over alleged graft

  • Beros’ lawyer Laura Valkovic told local media that he denied any criminal responsibility
  • The prime minister’s comments came after Croatia’s Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) said it was conducting several arrests

SARAJEVO: Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros was sacked on Friday after being arrested on suspicion of corruption, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.
Beros’ lawyer Laura Valkovic told local media that he denied any criminal responsibility. The health ministry declined to comment.
The prime minister’s comments came after Croatia’s Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) said it was conducting several arrests.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office also said it had initiated an investigation against eight people, including Beros and the directors of two hospitals in Zagreb, over alleged bribery, abuse of authority and money laundering.
Croatia’s State Attorney Ivan Turudic, whose office works closely with USKOK, said there were two parallel investigations into the alleged crimes and that EPPO has not informed his office nor USKOK about its investigation.
Turudic said Beros was accused of trade of influence. He said two other individuals had been arrested and one legal entity would be investigated on suspicion of the criminal act of receiving a bribe.
The people detained will be brought before an investigative judge who will decide on any pre-trial detention, Turudic told a news conference.
The EPPO said that a criminal group seeking to secure financing for the sale of medical robotic devices in several hospitals was suspected of giving bribes to officials to try to win contracts for projects, including EU funded ones.
“What is obvious is that this is about criminal acts of corruption,” Plenkovic said. “On behalf of the government, I want to say that agencies authorized for criminal persecution should investigate everything.”