U.S. President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe and South Korean President, Moon Jae-in on the eve of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg Thursday, as North Korea’s recent ballistic missile tests dominate talks.
The meeting came shortly after Moon met Chinese President, Xi Jingping in Berlin, where both sides agreed that tougher sanctions are necessary against North Korea, South Korean officials said.
Pyongyang has conducted a string of missile tests in recent months, angering world powers amid growing concerns that the hostile regime is advancing its nuclear weapons arsenal.
On July 4, North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un hailed the country’s first successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, which he said would be the first of many “gift packages” aimed at the U.S.
At a news conference on Thursday in Warsaw, Trump hinted at a “pretty severe” response from Washington.
“I don’t like to talk about what I have planned, but I have some pretty severe things that we are thinking about,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean we are going to do them. I don’t draw red lines.”
He said North Korea is “behaving in a very, very dangerous manner and something will have to be done about it.”
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who is hosting the two-day G20 summit, also spoke out in favour of further sanctions prior to a discussion with Moon.
Merkel said she sees “a great danger for world peace in North Korea.” (dpa/NAN)
FAT/AFA