Before his meeting with Chinese president, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump went public with an ultimatum for China regarding the growing number of nuclear weapons in Pyongyang. The ultimatum is in regards to the country's nuclear missile tests. Trump believes China has influence over North Korea, and that they will help them with their growing nuclear power.
Willing to go against North Korea alone
Keeping with his usual style of speaking without saying anything at all, Donald Trump has made shocking statements ahead of his meeting with the Chinese president.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump has stated that if China fails to pressure Kim Jong-un into disabling his nuclear program, the United States is willing to take action alone. On Thursday and Friday, Trump will host Xi Jinping at his resort in Florida, where they are expected to talk about trade and North Korea, as it is speculated that there are plans by Pyongyang to conduct another nuclear missile test which will coincide with the meeting.
When asked by the Financial Times how he would tackle Kim Jong-un's military, Trump answered: "I’m not going to tell you. You know, I am not the United States of the past where we tell you where we are going to hit in the Middle East." Statements such as these have alarmed political experts.
Trump also added that he would not be surprised if China and the US did something that would be "very dramatic" and good "for both countries".
British Prime Minister does not agree
It was reported in The Telegraph that Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, is of the opinion that President Trump should think twice about his strategy and said that the United Kingdom has worked with China to deescalate the situation.
Many experts have gone on to say that taking action without China would be very unwise.
Several political experts have spoken to The Guardian about these new developments. Jim Walsh, who works at the MIT Security Studies Program, has gone on record to say that Trump cannot solve this problem alone and that unilateral action, without the aid of South Korea or China, would not be effective.
Walsh also added that threatening China to win cooperation was a contradiction. However, Trump is convinced that China's main incentive behind backing the US would be trade. Another expert, Robert Kelly, is also skeptical. He has said that America's chances are very poor and that the North Koreans have been preparing for an American airstrike since the 1950s. A professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Vivian Zhan, has also said that the US cannot solve this issue by itself and that China would have to be involved. Regardless of the outcomes of this situation, it is clear president Trump knows very little about Pyongyang's military, war, or even basic rules of diplomacy.
