Tag Archives: World Leaders

Trump says U.S. not ‘putting up with’ North Korea’s actions

Trump says U.S. not 'putting up with' North Korea's actions

By Jeff Mason and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States would no longer tolerate North Korea’s actions but said the use of military force against Pyongyang will not be his “first choice.”

His comment appeared to be in line with classified briefings to Congress in which Trump’s top national security aides – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence – stressed the search for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, lawmakers said.

A senior administration official, meanwhile, said that the White House has set aside for now consideration of exiting a free trade pact with South Korea, a move being contemplated by Trump that could have complicated relations with Seoul.

In a flurry of phone calls with world leaders days after North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping committed to “take further action with the goal of achieving the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” the White House said.

“President Xi would like to do something. We’ll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what’s happening in North Korea,” Trump told reporters, though he offered no specifics.

“I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100 percent,” he added.

Asked whether he was considering a military response to North Korea, Trump said: “Certainly, that’s not our first choice, but we will see what happens.”

Xi, who has been under pressure from Trump to do more to help curb North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, told the U.S. president during their 45-minute call that the North Korean issue must be resolved through “dialogue and consultation.”

The focus on negotiations by China, North Korea’s main trading partner, contrasted with Trump’s assertions over the last few days that now was not the time for talks with North Korea while pressing instead for increased international pressure on Pyongyang.

The United States and South Korea have asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions on North Korea after its nuclear test on Sunday that Pyongyang said was an advanced hydrogen bomb.

Late on Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin indicated that if the U.N. Security Council fails to approve sufficiently strong measures, Trump could authorize him to impose sanctions on any country or entity that trades with North Korea.

“We believe that we need to economically cut off North Korea,” Mnuchin told reporters aboard Air Force One as it flew back from North Dakota, where Trump gave a speech on tax reform. “I have an executive order prepared. It’s ready to go to the president. It will authorize me to . . . put sanctions on anybody that does trade with North Korea.”

Mnuchin said that Trump would consider the order “at the appropriate time once he gives the U.N. time to act.”

He provided no further details, including whether Trump would consider slapping sanctions on China, North Korea’s largest trade partner.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Wednesday that resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis was impossible with sanctions and pressure alone.

Putin met South Korea’s Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of an economic summit in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok amid mounting international concern that their neighbor plans more weapons tests, including possibly a long-range missile launch before a weekend anniversary.

Putin echoed other world leaders in denouncing North Korea’s latest nuclear bomb test on Sunday, saying Russia did not recognize its nuclear status.

“Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear program is a crude violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, undermines the non-proliferation regime and creates a threat to the security of northeastern Asia,” Putin said at a news conference.

“At the same time, it is clear that it is impossible to resolve the problem of the Korean peninsula only by sanctions and pressure,” he said.

No headway could be made without political and diplomatic tools, Putin said.

MOON SEEKS SANCTIONS

Moon, who took office this year advocating a policy of pursuing engagement with North Korea, has come under increasing pressure to take a harder line.

He has asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions after North Korea’s latest nuclear test.

The United States wants the Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea, ban the country’s exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean laborers abroad and subject leader Kim Jong Un to an asset freeze and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Diplomats say the U.N. Security Council could also consider barring the country’s airline.

“I ask Russia to actively cooperate as this time it is inevitable that North Korea’s oil supply should be cut at the least,” Moon told Putin, according to a readout from a South Korean official.

Putin said North Korea would not give up its nuclear program no matter how tough the sanctions.

“We too, are against North Korea developing its nuclear capabilities and condemn it, but it is worrying cutting the oil pipeline will harm the regular people, like in hospitals,” Putin said, according to the South Korean presidential official.

Russia’s exports of crude oil to North Korea were tiny at about 40,000 tonnes a year, Putin said. By comparison, China provides it with about 520,000 tonnes of crude a year, according to industry sources.

Last year, China shipped just over 96,000 tonnes of gasoline and almost 45,000 tonnes of diesel to North Korea, where it is used across the economy, from fishermen and farmers to truckers and the military.

Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed in a telephone call on Tuesday that China must do more to persuade North Korea to cease its missile tests, a spokesman for May said.

‘FREEZE FOR FREEZE’

Sanctions have done little to stop North Korea boosting its nuclear and missile capacity as it faces off with Trump, who has vowed to stop it from being able to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon.

China and Russia have advocated a “freeze for freeze” plan, where the United States and South Korea stop major military exercises in exchange for North Korea halting its weapons programs, but neither side is willing to budge.

North Korea says it needs to develop its weapons to defend itself against what it sees as U.S. aggression.

South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

China objects to both the military drills and the deployment in South Korea of an advanced U.S. missile defense system that has a radar that can see deep into Chinese territory.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the four remaining batteries of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system would be deployed on a golf course in the south of the country on Thursday. Two THAAD batteries have already been installed.

For a graphic on nuclear North Korea, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/010031V7472/index.html

(Additional reporting by Denis Pinchuk in VLADIVOSTOK, Soyoung Kim in SEOUL, Stephanie Nebehay in GENEVA, William Mallard and Kaori Kaneko in TOKYO, Christian Shepherd and Michael Martina in BEIJING, and Jonathan Landay and Jim Oliphant in WASHINGTON; Writing by Matt Spetalnick and Lincoln Feast; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Putin says sanctions, pressure alone won’t resolve North Korea crisis

Putin says sanctions, pressure alone won't resolve North Korea crisis

By Denis Pinchuk and Christine Kim

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia/SEOUL (Reuters) – Resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis is impossible with sanctions and pressure alone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday after meeting his South Korean counterpart, adding that the impact of cutting oil would be worrying.

Putin met South Korea’s Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of an economic summit in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok amid mounting international concern that their neighbor plans more weapons tests, possibly a long-range missile launch ahead of a weekend anniversary.

Putin denounced North Korea’s sixth and largest nuclear bomb test on Sunday, saying Russia did not recognize its nuclear status.

“Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear program is a crude violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, undermines the non-proliferation regime and creates a threat to the security of northeastern Asia,” Putin said at a joint news conference.

“At the same time, it is clear that it is impossible to resolve the problem of the Korean peninsula only by sanctions and pressure,” he said.

No headway could be made without political and diplomatic tools, Putin said, later telling the TASS news agency that Russian and North Korean delegations might meet at the Vladivostok forum.

Moon, who came to power this year advocating a policy of pursuing engagement with North Korea, has come under increasing pressure to take a harder line.

He has asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions after North Korea’s latest nuclear test.

Diplomats say the U.N. Security Council could consider banning North Korean textile exports, barring its airline or stopping supplies of oil to the government and military.

Other measures could include preventing North Koreans from working abroad and putting top officials on a blacklist aimed at imposing asset freezes and travel bans.

“I ask Russia to actively cooperate as this time it is inevitable that North Korea’s oil supply should be cut at the least,” Moon told Putin, according to a readout from a South Korean official.

Putin said North Korea would not give up its nuclear program no matter how tough the sanctions.

“We too, are against North Korea developing its nuclear capabilities and condemn it, but it is worrying cutting the oil pipeline will harm the regular people, like in hospitals,” Putin said, according to the South Korean presidential official.

Russia’s exports of crude oil to North Korea were tiny at about 40,000 tonnes a year, Putin said. By comparison, China provides it with about 520,000 tonnes of crude a year, according to industry sources.

Last year, China shipped just over 96,000 tonnes of gasoline and almost 45,000 tonnes of diesel to North Korea, where it is used across the economy, from fishermen and farmers to truckers and the military.

‘FREEZE FOR FREEZE’

Sanctions have done little to stop North Korea boosting its nuclear and missile capacity as it faces off with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has vowed to stop it from being able to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon.

China and Russia have advocated a “freeze for freeze” plan, where the United States and South Korea stop major military exercises in exchange for North Korea halting its weapons programs, but neither side is willing to budge.

North Korea says it needs to develop its weapons to defend itself against what it sees as U.S. aggression.

South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

China objects to both the military drills and the deployment in South Korea of an advanced U.S. missile defense system that has a radar that can see deep into Chinese territory.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the four remaining batteries of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system would be deployed on a golf course in the south of the country on Thursday.

Two THAAD batteries have already been installed.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated China’s opposition to the system, saying it could only “severely damage” regional security and raise “tensions and antagonism”.

“China strongly urges the United States and South Korea to pay attention to China and other regional nations’ security interests and concerns, immediately halt the progress of the relevant deployment, and remove the relevant equipment,” Geng said.

BIG BLAST

Asian stocks fell on Wednesday after a slide on Wall Street overnight while the dollar was on the defensive with Korean tension showing few signs of abating.

Sunday’s test of what North Korea said was an advanced hydrogen bomb was its largest by far.

Japan upgraded its assessment of the North Korean test to 160 kilotons from 120 kilotons after the size of the earthquake it generated was revised to magnitude 6.1.

“We estimate this was far bigger than previous nuclear tests,” Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters.

Satellite imagery appeared to show the blast caused landslides at North Korea’s Punggye-ri test site, according to 38 North, a Washington-based North Korean monitoring project.

South Korean officials said they were watching for radioactive fallout from the test and for signs of preparations for more activity.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said on Wednesday China held the key to resolving the crisis, reiterating comments made by Prime Minister Theresa May and Australian leader Malcolm Turnbull after they spoke with Trump.

“China holds the key, the oil to North Korea flows from China … China has not just influence but has many of the levers that are needed to change behavior in North Korea,” Fallon told BBC radio.

For a graphic on nuclear North Korea, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/010031V7472/index.html

(Additional reporting by Soyoung Kim in SEOUL, Stephanie Nebehay in GENEVA, William Mallard and Kaori Kaneko in TOKYO, Christian Shepherd and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)

Putin: Russia reserves right to cut further U.S. diplomatic mission

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference after BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in Xiamen, China September 5, 2017. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

By Denis Pinchuk

XIAMEN, China (Reuters) – Russia reserves the right to cut further the number of U.S. diplomatic staff in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, in response to what he called Washington’s “boorish” treatment of Russia’s diplomatic mission on U.S. soil.

Speaking after U.S. officials ordered Russia to vacate diplomatic premises in several American cities, Putin said he would order the Russian foreign ministry to take legal action over alleged violations of Russia’s property rights.

“That the Americans reduced the number of our diplomatic facilities – this is their right,” Putin told a news conference in the Chinese city of Xiamen, where he was attending a summit of major emerging economies.

“The only thing is that it was done in such a clearly boorish manner. That does not reflect well on our American partners. But it’s difficult to conduct a dialogue with people who confuse Austria and Australia. Nothing can be done about it. Probably such is the level of political culture of a certain part of the U.S. establishment.”

“As for our buildings and facilities, this is an unprecedented thing,” Putin said. “This is a clear violation of Russia’s property rights. Therefore, for a start, I will order the Foreign Ministry to go to court – and let’s see just how efficient the much-praised U.S. judiciary is.”

U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, saying he wanted to improve ties with Russia. Putin also spoke favorably of Trump.

But relations have been damaged by accusations from U.S. intelligence officials that Russia sought to meddle in the presidential election. Russia has denied interfering in the vote.

Asked by a reporter if he was disappointed with Trump, Putin said: “Whether I am disappointed or not, your question sounds very naive – he is not my bride and, likewise, I am neither his bride nor bridegroom.”

“We are both statesmen. Every nation has interests of its own. In his activities, Trump is guided by the national interests of his country, and I by the interests of mine.”

“I greatly hope that we will be able, just as the current U.S. president said, to find some compromises while resolving bilateral and international problems … taking into account our joint responsibility for international security.”

DIPLOMATIC PARITY

The U.S. order for Russia to vacate some of its diplomatic properties was the latest in a series of tit-for-tat actions that began when former U.S. president Barack Obama, late last year, expelled 35 Russian diplomats.

The Obama administration said it was retaliating for Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

In July, Moscow responded, ordering the United States to cut the number of its diplomatic and technical staff working in Russia by around 60 percent, to 455.

Moscow said the move aimed to bring the number of U.S. and Russian diplomats working on each other’s soil to parity. But Putin said the latest expulsions ordered by Washington brought the number of Russian diplomats on U.S. soil to below parity.

He said the United States was erroneously counting 155 Russian diplomats working at the United Nations headquarters in New York as being Russian diplomats on U.S. soil. If they are removed from the equation, Putin said, Russia has fewer than 455 diplomats in the United States.

“We reserve the right to take a decision on the number of U.S. diplomats in Moscow. But we won’t do that for now. Let’s wait and see how the situation develops further,” he said.

The United States has ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in San Francisco and two buildings housing trade missions in Washington and New York.

U.S.-Russian relations have also been badly strained by Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, developments which led Washington to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

Trump, himself battling allegations that his associates colluded with Russia, grudgingly signed into law the new sanctions against Moscow that had been drawn up by Congress.

(Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Christian Lowe and Gareth Jones)

Russia, digesting U.S. diplomatic retaliation, pledges ‘harsh’ response

The entrance to the building of the Consulate General of Russia is shown in San Francisco, California, U.S., August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

By Andrew Osborn

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday it would respond harshly to any U.S. measures designed to hurt it, a day after the United States told Moscow to close its San Francisco consulate and buildings in Washington and New York.

The warning, from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, came as Russia said it was weighing a response to the U.S. move that will force it to shutter two trade missions in the United States as well as the San Francisco consulate by Sept. 2.

“We’ll react as soon as we finish our analysis,” Lavrov told students in Moscow. “We will respond harshly to things that damage us.”

Separately, a top Kremlin aide complained the U.S. demarche pushed bilateral ties further into a blind alley and fuelled a spiral of tit-for-tat retaliatory measures.

U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, saying he wanted to improve U.S.-Russia ties which were at a post-Cold War low. But since then, ties have frayed further after U.S. intelligence officials said Russia had meddled in the presidential election, something Moscow denies.

Trump, himself battling allegations his associates colluded with Russia, grudgingly signed new sanctions on Moscow into law this month which had been drawn up by Congress.

When it became clear those measures would become law, Moscow ordered the United States to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by more than half, to 455 people.

Lavrov hinted on Friday that Russia might look at ordering further reductions in U.S. embassy staff, suggesting Moscow had been generous last time by allowing Washington to keep “more than 150” extra people.

He said Russia had cut the U.S. numbers to tally with the number of Russian diplomats in the United States, but that Moscow had generously included more than 150 Russian staff who work at Russia’s representation office at the United Nations.

Lavrov said Moscow still hoped for better relations and blamed Trump’s political foes for the deteriorating situation.

“I want to say that this whole story with exchanging tit-for-tat sanctions was not started by us,” Lavrov said.

“It was started by the Obama administration to undermine U.S.-Russia relations and to not allow Trump to advance constructive ideas or fulfil his pre-election pledges.”

Barack Obama, then outgoing president, expelled 35 suspected Russian spies in December and seized two Russian diplomatic compounds. President Vladimir Putin paused before responding, saying he would wait to see how Trump handled Russia.

“We thought this administration could exercise common sense, but unfortunately the Russophobes in Congress are not allowing it to,” said Lavrov, who complained that the United States had only given Moscow 48 hours to comply with its latest demands.

(Additional reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

After North Korea missile, Britain and Japan agree closer security ties

British Prime Minister Theresa May (3rd L) and members of Japan's National Security Council pose for the media prior to their meeting at Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo on August 31, 2017. (L-R) Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and Shotaro Yachi, head of the National Security Council. REUTERS/Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool

By William James

TOKYO (Reuters) – Britain and Japan said on Thursday they would cooperate in countering the threat posed by North Korea, two days after it fired a missile over northern Japan, and will call on China to exert its leverage.

Prime Minister Theresa May, looking to strengthen relations with one of her closest allies ahead of Brexit, is visiting Japan as it responds to an increasing military threat.

Terming North Korea’s missile program “a global threat”, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a news conference that Japan and Britain would cooperate.

“It is very meaningful that Prime Minister May and I agreed to further strengthen pressure on North Korea and to call on China to play a larger role,” he added.

May agreed, noting that China, North Korea’s lone major ally, had been involved in U.N. Security Council debate earlier this week.

“China does have a particular position in this, they have leverage on North Korea and I believe we should be encouraging China to exercise that leverage to do what we all want – which is to ensure that North Korea is not conducting these illegal acts.”

May toured Japan’s flagship Izumo helicopter carrier for a military briefing with Minister of Defence Itsunori Onodera before attending a national security meeting.

May and Abe agreed on a joint declaration on security cooperation, including plans for British soldiers to take part in military exercises on Japanese soil and for collaboration to address the threat of cyber and militant attacks when Japan hosts the Olympics in 2020.

North Korea featured heavily in the talks after it launched a ballistic missile on Tuesday that passed over Japanese territory, prompting international condemnation.

May’s office had said the two leaders were expected to discuss the possibility of further sanctions on North Korea, but neither Abe nor May touched on the issue at the news conference.

The Global Times, a publication of the official People’s Daily of China’s ruling Communist Party, criticized an earlier comment of May’s comment calling for more pressure from China.

“Beijing does not need London to teach it how to deal with North Korea,” the newspaper said.

Asked about the United States, Japan and Britain looking to impose new sanctions on North Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the situation could only be resolved peacefully through dialogue.

“We think it is regrettable that some countries selectively overlook the relevant Security Council resolutions’ demand to advance dialogue, and stubbornly emphasize pressure and sanctions,” she told a daily news briefing.

‘OUTWARD-LOOKING’

Apart from security, May’s trip has focused on trade and investment. She is keen to convince nervy investors that Britain’s exit from the European Union will not make it a less attractive business partner.

Both May and Abe addressed a delegation of British business leaders and senior representatives from major Japanese investors in Britain, such as carmakers Nissan, Toyota and conglomerate Hitachi.

Abe told the gathering that May had assured him Britain’s negotiations on leaving the European Union would be transparent.

May said Japanese investment after Britain’s vote to leave the EU was a vote of confidence and she pledged to build close trade ties with Japan.

“I very much welcome the commitment from Japanese companies such as Nissan, Toyota, Softbank and Hitachi,” May said.

“I am determined that we will seize the opportunity to become an ever more outward-looking global Britain, deepening our trade relations with old friends and new allies.”

During a two-hour train ride between Kyoto and Tokyo late on Wednesday, the two leaders discussed Brexit, with May talking Abe through the details of a series of papers published in recent weeks setting out her negotiating position.

May said on Wednesday Japan’s upcoming trade deal with the EU could offer a template for a future Japan-Britain trade agreement, the latest attempt to show investors that Brexit will not lead to an overnight change in business conditions.

Japan has been unusually open about its concerns over Brexit, worrying that 40 billion pounds ($51.68 billion) of Japanese investment in the British economy could suffer if trading conditions change abruptly when Britain leaves the bloc.

(Additional reporting by Tim Kelly, Elaine Lies, Linda Sieg, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Takashi Umekawa, and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)

Trump says ‘talking not the answer’ on North Korea, Mattis disagrees

A missile is launched during a long and medium-range ballistic rocket launch drill in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on August 30, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS

By Idrees Ali and Soyoung Kim

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday said “talking is not the answer” to the tense standoff with North Korea over its nuclear missile development, but his defense chief swiftly asserted that the United States still has diplomatic options.

Trump’s comment, coming a day after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile over Japan that drew U.N. and other international condemnation, renewed his tough rhetoric toward reclusive, nuclear-armed and increasingly isolated North Korea.

“The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Talking is not the answer!”

When asked by reporters just hours later if the United States was out of diplomatic solutions with North Korea amid rising tensions after a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis replied: “No.”

“We are never out of diplomatic solutions,” Mattis said before a meeting with his South Korean counterpart at the Pentagon. “We continue to work together, and the minister and I share a responsibility to provide for the protection of our nations, our populations and our interests.”

Trump, who has vowed not to let North Korea develop nuclear missiles that can hit the mainland United States, had said in a statement on Tuesday that “all options are on the table.”

North Korea said the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) on Tuesday was to counter U.S. and South Korean military drills and was a first step in military action in the Pacific to “containing” the U.S. island territory of Guam.

The 15-member U.N. Security Council condemned the firing of the missile over Japan as “outrageous,” and demanded that North Korea halt its weapons program. The U.S.-drafted statement, which did not threaten new sanctions on North Korea, urged all nations to implement U.N. sanctions and said it was of “vital importance” that Pyongyang take immediate, concrete actions to reduce tensions.

Trump’s mention of payments to North Korea appeared to be a reference to previous U.S. aid to the country.

A U.S. Congressional Research Service report said between 1995 and 2008, the United States provided North Korea with over $1.3 billion in assistance. Slightly more than 50 percent was for food and about 40 percent for energy assistance. The assistance was part of a nuclear deal that North Korea later violated.

Since early 2009, the United States has provided virtually no aid to North Korea, though periodically there have been discussions about resuming large-scale food aid.

The latest tweet by the Republican U.S. president drew criticism from some quarters in Washington. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter: “Bar is high, but this is perhaps the most dangerous, irresponsible tweet of his entire Presidency. Millions of lives at stake – not a game.”

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, ordered the launch to be conducted for the first time from its capital, Pyongyang, and said more exercises with the Pacific as the target were needed, the North’s KCNA news agency said on Wednesday.

“The current ballistic rocket launching drill like a real war is the first step of the military operation of the KPA in the Pacific and a meaningful prelude to containing Guam,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying. KPA stands for the Korean People’s Army.

Trump’s secretaries of defense and state have emphasized finding a diplomatic solution to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Earlier this month, Mattis told reporters the U.S. effort “is diplomatically led. It has diplomatic traction. It is gaining diplomatic results.”

Trump has offered divergent comments on North Korea in recent weeks. On Aug. 22, he tweeted that “I respect the fact that he is starting to respect us,” referring to Kim, and that maybe “something positive can come about.” On Aug. 8, Trump had threatened to unleash “fire and fury” against North Korea if it threatened the United States, and two days later delivered some more menacing words.

North Korea threatened to fire four missiles into the sea near Guam, home to a major U.S. military presence, after Trump’s “fire and fury” remark.

‘KEY MILESTONE’

The U.S. Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency and the crew of the USS John Paul Jones conducted a “complex missile defense flight test” off Hawaii early on Wednesday, resulting in the intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target, the agency said.

The agency’s director, Lieutenant General Sam Greaves, called the test “a key milestone” in giving U.S. Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships an enhanced capability, but did not mention North Korea.

The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea routinely says it will never give up its weapons programs, saying they are necessary to counter perceived American hostility.

In Geneva, American disarmament ambassador Robert Wood, addressing the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, called for “concerted action” by the international community to pressure North Korea into abandoning its banned nuclear and missile program by fully enforcing economic sanctions.

Washington has repeatedly urged China, North Korea’s main ally and trading partner, to do more to rein in Pyongyang.

Speaking during a visit to the Japanese city of Osaka, British Prime Minister Theresa May called on China to put more pressure on North Korea.

Asked about her comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said some “relevant sides” were only selectively carrying out the U.N. resolutions by pushing hard on sanctions yet neglecting to push for a return to talks.

She said this was not the attitude “responsible countries” should have when the “smell of gunpowder” remained strong over the Korean peninsula.

“When it comes to sanctions, they storm to the front but when it comes to pushing for peace they hide at the very back,” Hua told a daily news briefing.

North Korea has conducted dozens of ballistic missile tests under Kim in defiance of U.N. sanctions, but firing a projectile over mainland Japan was a rare and provocative move. Tuesday’s test was of the same Hwasong-12 missile Kim had threatened to use on Guam, but the test flight took it in another direction, over northern Japan’s Hokkaido island and into the sea.

For an interactive on North Korea’s missile capabilities, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/010041L63FE/index.html

For a graphic on North Korean missile trajectories, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/010050CG0RT/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES.png

For a graphic on Kim’s new act of defiance, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/010050KV1C3/index.html

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul, and Philip Wen and Michael Martina in Beijing, Susan Heavey, Yeganeh Torbati and David Alexander in Washington, Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru and William James in Osaka, Japan; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Alistair Bell)

Germany keen to avoid new ‘ice age’ in ties between Russia, West

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (R) and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel walk out to meet the press where Tillerson made a statement about the flooding in Houston, Texas, but declined questions, prior to a bilateral meeting, at the State Department, in Washington, U.S., August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Germany and Europe want to ensure that new U.S. sanctions against Russia do not lead to a new “ice age” in ties between Russia and the West, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Tuesday.

Gabriel said he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about the sanctions in a meeting in Washington, adding that he was grateful that U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to coordinate on further measures with U.S. allies.

“We as Europeans have great concerns that this will have unintended consequences for Europe. We don’t want to completely destroy our business relations with Russia, especially in the energy sector,” Gabriel said.

Trump this month approved new sanctions on Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and for what U.S. intelligence agencies say was its meddling in the U.S. presidential election, a charge Russia denies.

Gabriel has criticized the United States for the move, saying the new punitive measures expose European companies involved in energy projects in Russia to fines for breaching U.S. law.

Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries even urged the EU to retaliate against the United States if the new sanctions on Russia should end up penalizing German firms.

Gabriel said European leaders were concerned that the latest sanctions would not only have economic consequences, but could also “lead to a new ice age between Russia and the United States and the West.”

Despite European concerns about the sanctions, Gabriel insisted that Moscow must do its part to implement a fragile ceasefire agreement in place for eastern Ukraine, including the withdrawal of heavy weapons.

“That would be a starting point for improved relations,” Gabriel said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President on Monday called for Russia and Ukraine to increase their efforts to implement the ceasefire agreement.

The conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists has claimed more than 10,000 lives since it erupted in 2014. Germany and France have tried to convince both sides to implement a peace deal agreed in Minsk in 2015 but with little success so far.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

North Korea presses rocket program, but amid signs of drama easing

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un smiles during a visit to the Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defense Science in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on August 23, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS

By Christine Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered more solid-fuel rocket engines, state media reported on Wednesday, as he pursues nuclear and missile programs amid a standoff with Washington, but there were signs of tension easing.

The report carried by the KCNA news agency lacked the traditionally robust threats against the United States after weeks of unbridled acrimony, and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about a possible improvement in relations.

“I respect the fact that he is starting to respect us,” Trump said of Kim at a raucous campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona.

“And maybe – probably not, but maybe – something positive can come about,” he said.

The KCNA report, about a visit by Kim to a chemical institute, came not long after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to make a peace overture, welcoming what he called recent restraint shown by the reclusive North.

Kim was briefed about the process of manufacturing intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) warhead tips and solid-fuel rocket engines during his tour of the Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defence Science, KCNA said.

“He instructed the institute to produce more solid-fuel rocket engines and rocket warhead tips by further expanding engine production process and the production capacity of rocket warhead tips and engine jets by carbon/carbon compound material,” KCNA said.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and dozens of missile tests since the beginning of last year, significantly raising tension on the heavily militarized Korean peninsula and in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Two ICBM tests in July resulted in a new round of tougher global sanctions.

The last missile test on July 28 put the U.S. mainland in range, prompting heated exchanges that raised fears of a new conflict on the peninsula.

Tillerson, however, noted what he called the restraint the North had shown and said on Tuesday he hoped a path could be opening for dialogue.

SIMULATED WAR DRILLS

South Korea and the United States are conducting an annual military exercise this week involving computer simulations of a war.

The drills, which the North routinely describes as preparation for invasion, run until Aug. 31, and included South Korean a civil defense exercise on Wednesday that saw traffic halted, movie screenings interrupted and hundreds of thousands of people directed to underground shelters.

The KCNA report said Kim had given “special thanks and special bonus” to officials of the institute, calling them heroes. A photograph showed Kim in a gray pinstriped suit, smiling before a large flow chart that described some kind of manufacturing process.

There was none of the fiery rhetoric of recent weeks, when Kim threatened to fire missiles into the sea near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam after Trump warned North Korea it would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.

But there were some signs of tension after the United States imposed new North Korea-related sanctions, targeting Chinese and Russian firms and individuals for supporting North Korea’s weapons programs.

The U.S. Treasury designated six Chinese-owned entities, one Russian, one North Korean and two based in Singapore. They included a Namibia-based subsidiary of a Chinese company and a North Korean entity operating in Namibia.

China reacted with irritation, saying the United States should “immediately correct its mistake” of imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said all sides, especially the United States and North Korea, needed to exercise restraint.

“We hope all sides can be brave enough to shoulder their responsibilities, show goodwill to each other and take correct actions to help further ease tensions,” she told a regular press briefing.

Singapore-registered companies Velmur Management and Transatlantic Partners were named in the U.S. Treasury’s sanction statement as providing oil to North Korea and working with designated individuals.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said U.S. authorities had informed them prior to the designations and it was investigating.

“Singapore will strictly fulfil its obligations under the UNSCRs and international law, and not allow our financial system to be abused for the conduct of illicit activities,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Both Velmur and Transatlantic are represented by business service providers in Singapore that manage their local registrations.

Rivkin, which provides secretarial services for Velmur, said it would end its business relationship with the company and file a suspicious transaction report on their dealings to the police.

A representative for MEA Business Consultancy, which is located at the registered address for Transatlantic, said it provided services for the firm but only for registration purposes.

The United States has long urged China to do more to rein in North Korea, which counts Beijing as its lone major ally. Data released on Wednesday showed China’s trade with North Korea fell in July from a month earlier as a ban on coal purchases from its isolated neighbor slowed imports.

The United States is technically still at war with the North because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North routinely says it will never give up its weapons programs, saying they are necessary to counter U.S. hostility.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland in PHOENIX, David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu in WASHINGTON, Josephine Mason and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Fathin Ungku and Karishma Singh in SINGAPORE; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)

U.S. targets Chinese and Russia entities over North Korea

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin walks through the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is imposing new North Korea-related sanctions, targeting Chinese and Russian firms and individuals for supporting Pyongyang’s weapons programs, U.S. officials announced on Tuesday, but stopped short of an anticipated focus on Chinese banks.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated six Chinese-owned entities, one Russian, one North Korean and two based in Singapore. They included a Namibia-based subsidiary of a Chinese company and a North Korean entity operating in Namibia.

Six individuals including four Russians, one Chinese and one North Korean were targeted, the Treasury Department said.

The move follows toughened United Nations sanctions agreed this month after North Korea tested its first two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.

The Treasury Department said the new sanctions targeted those helping already-designated individuals supporting North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its energy trade. They included three Chinese coal importers.

The steps also targeted those helping North Korea send workers abroad and enabling sanctioned North Korea entities to get access to the U.S. and international financial system.

“Treasury will continue to increase pressure on North Korea by targeting those who support the advancement of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and isolating them from the American financial system,” Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement.

“It is unacceptable for individuals and companies in China, Russia, and elsewhere to enable North Korea to generate income used to develop weapons of mass destruction.”

A new round of U.S. sanctions had been expected, but Washington appeared to delay them while securing Chinese and Russian support for tougher U.N. steps.

U.S. officials and U.N. diplomats say the threat of U.S. “secondary sanctions” against Chinese firms with North Korean ties and trade pressure helped persuade China to drop opposition to the U.N. sanctions.

The latest steps stopped short of targeting Chinese financial institutions dealing with North Korea, a step that would have greatly angered Beijing. The Trump administration is still hoping China will pressure Pyongyang.

“The sanctions target a range of North Korea’s illicit activities and the focus on Chinese facilitators is another message to Beijing,” said Anthony Ruggiero, a Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow and former U.S. Treasury official.

“However, there are missing elements. There’s no focus on the efforts of Chinese banks that facilitate these transactions. In addition, these Chinese networks likely have additional front companies operating on behalf of the network and those were not sanctioned.”

China is North Korea’s neighbor and main trading partner and U.S. foreign policy experts say Chinese companies have long had a key role in financing Pyongyang.

The Chinese and Russians embassies in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. China has said in the past it is strongly opposed to unilateral sanctions outside the U.N. framework, and has accused the United States of using “long-arm” jurisdiction in targeting Chinese entities.

(Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by David Alexander and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Japan urges pressure on North Korea as U.S. spells out choices

FILE PHOTO: Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono gestures during a news conference on the sidelines of the 50th Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, Philippines August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao

By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Stephanie Nebehay

TOKYO/GENEVA (Reuters) – Japan said on Tuesday the world must keep pressure on North Korea to rein in its nuclear and missile programs as the United States spelt out the choice for impoverished Pyongyang between belligerence and prosperity.

North Korea has pursued its weapons tests in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions and ignored all calls, including from major ally China, to stop, prompting a bellicose exchange of rhetoric between the North and the United States.

North Korea justifies its weapons programs, including its recent threat to fire missiles towards the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, by pointing to perceived U.S. hostility, such as military exercises with South Korea this week.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said pressure must be maintained until the North demonstrated it would give up its nuclear program.

“It’s not the time to discuss (the resumption of) six-party talks,” Kono said, referring to international negotiations involving both Koreas, the United States, Russia, China and Japan for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

“It’s time to exert pressure,” he told reporters.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s top priority is to protect the United States and its allies against the “growing threat” from North Korea and America is ready to use “the full range of capabilities” at its disposal, a U.S. envoy said.

U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood told a U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva the “path to dialogue still remains an option” for Pyongyang and it had the choice between poverty and belligerence and prosperity and acceptance.

There was no immediate reply from the North Korean delegate in the room.

‘CRAZY’ TO SHARE TIMELINE

The head of the U.S. military’s Pacific Command said diplomacy was key.

Admiral Harry Harris was in South Korea to observe annual joint military drills with the South Korean military, which the North called a step towards nuclear conflict masterminded by U.S. and South Korean “war maniacs”.

“So we hope and we work for diplomatic solutions to the challenge presented by Kim Jong Un,” Harris told reporters at a U.S. air base in Osan, about an hour from the capital, Seoul, referring to the North Korean leader.

He said diplomacy was “the most important starting point” in response to the North’s threat, when asked what actions by North Korea might trigger a preemptive U.S. strike against it.

“As far as a timeline, it would be crazy for me to share with you those tripwires in advance. If we did that, it would hardly be a military strategy,” he said.

The United States and South Korea began the long-planned exercises on Monday, called the Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which the allies have said are purely defensive.

The drills end on Aug. 31 and involve tens of thousands of troops as well as computer simulations designed to prepare for war with a nuclear-capable North Korea.

A North Korean army spokesman repeated a threat of retaliation against the United States for readying a preemptive strike and a war of aggression, using the drills as an excuse to mount such an attack.

“The U.S. will be wholly held accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by such reckless aggressive war maneuvers, as it chose a military confrontation,” the unidentified spokesman said in comments carried by the North’s official KCNA news agency.

The United States and North Korea are technically still at war with the North because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

(Additional reporting by Christine Kim in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Writing by Jack Kim and Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel)