US President Donald Trump (Source: AP)
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed his cautious optimism that his aggressive stance against North Korea was paying off and that there was room for improvement in relations with North Korea after months of mounting tension over its weapons programs. “I respect the fact that he is starting to respect us,” Trump said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
“And maybe – probably not, but maybe – something positive can come about,” he said at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona.
Trump’s comments echoed that of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who had earlier in the day extended a olive leaf to North Korea, while welcoming what he called the restraint it had shown in the past few days with regarding its weapons programs and saying he hoped a path could be opening for dialogue “sometime in the near future.”
“We have had no missile launches or provocative acts on the part of North Korea since the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council resolution,” Tillerson had told reporters, while referring to UN sanctions on North Korea agreed on August 5.
North Korea had last tested a Intercontinental Missile on July 28, which put US within striking distance of its nuclear weapons. This had sparked off tension between Pyongyang and West.
US President Donald Trump consequently warned North Korea that it would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.
Pyongyang had responded by threatening to fire missiles at US Pacific island territory of Guam, but later said it was holding off such attacks and see what what US did next.
(With Inputs form Reuters)
