President Trump was channeling America’s frustration on Tuesday when he tweeted that he was giving up on China as a nation that could help deal with North Korea, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted, “While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!” It was not immediately cleared what Trump was referring to, but he sent the message hours after making references to Otto Warmbier, the student who was arrested in North Korea for ripping down a poster and was returned to the U.S. this month in a coma only to die shortly after.
“In regards to the president’s view of North Korea, I believe he represents the American people’s view of North Korea right now,” said Mattis, in a joint press appearance with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after a visit in Washington with high-level Chinese officials. “We see a young man go over there healthy and with a minor act of mischief come home dead, basically, die immediately after he gets here.
“There’s no way we can look at a situation like this with any kind of understanding. This goes beyond any kind of understanding of law and order, of humanity and responsibility towards any human being,” he continued. “So what you’re seeing I think is the American people’s frustration with a regime that provokes and provokes and provokes and basically plays outside the rules and plays fast and loose with the truth, that sort of thing.”
Mattis added that China’s “end state” on the Korean Peninsula in terms of nuclear weapons “is the same as ours.”
The officials also discussed Beijing’s claims to islands in the South China Sea, including built-up islands in which China has staged military equipment.
“On the South China Sea, this is a dialogue where we identify areas where we can work together and understand those areas where we have what I would call disconnects,” Mattis said. “Where our understanding of the problem is very different from theirs. We had that discussion today and we’ll continue to close gaps in our understanding and work some kind of manner in the future that removes these irritants. But I would say for now that’s the whole purpose for the dialogue that we had today and we will be holding more in the future.”
