President Trump issued a warning Friday to North Korea after meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and promised to meet Pyongyang’s aggression with a “determined response.”
“The North Korean dictatorship has no regard for the safety and security of its people or its neighbors and has no respect for human life,” Trump said during a joint appearance with Moon in the White House Rose Garden.
“The entire world just witnessed what the regime did to our wonderful Otto Warmbier,” Trump said, referring to the recent death of an American student shortly after he spent more than a year in captivity in North Korea. “I thank President Moon for expressing his condolences on the travesty of Otto’s death.”
Trump also repeated a line his administration has used frequently since North Korea stepped up its nuclear activity in the face of strong condemnation from the U.S. and its regional allies.
“The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed. Many years, and it’s failed. And frankly, that patience is over,” Trump said.
The president had initially leaned on the Chinese government to use its influence with Pyongyang to encourage Kim Jong-Il, the North Korean dictator, to stop his nuclear activity.
However, following Warmbier’s death in Ohio earlier this month, Trump signaled via Twitter that he no longer believed Chinese President Xi Jinping could sway North Korea.
“The nuclear and ballistic missile program of that regime require a determined response,” Trump said.
Moon said Friday that the North Korean regime’s aggression is the “greatest challenge” facing South Korea.
Trump also touted negotiations for a bilateral trade deal with South Korea and recently announced investments in the U.S. from South Korean companies during his remarks Friday.
