&nbsp;

US President Donald&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;toured the Forbidden City with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday as he began the crucial leg of an Asian tour intended to build a global front against North Korea&#39;s nuclear threats.

After warning North Korea&#39;s &quot;cruel dictatorship&quot; against testing the United States during a speech in Seoul,&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;and First Lady Melania&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;were met by Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan for tea at the former imperial palace.

But the genial gathering will be followed on Thursday by a full day of thorny talks, with&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;looking to prod Xi into doing more to squeeze North Korea economically and to address China&#39;s massive trade surplus with the United States.

The&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;administration sees Beijing as the key to controlling Pyongyang, which depends on China for its economic survival and for 90 percent of its trade.

Earlier,&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;congratulated Xi on his reappointment as China&#39;s Communist Party chief, tweeting: &quot;I very much look forward to meeting with President Xi who is just off his great political victory.&quot;

Trump&#39;s use of the term &quot;political victory&quot; for the outcome of last month&#39;s Communist Party congress was seen by analysts as an attempt to conciliate Xi before tough talks on trade and North Korea.

&quot;He&#39;s laying it on thick to put Xi in a good mood because he will have unpleasant things to tell him,&quot; said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, China politics specialist at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Xi has prepared an extravagant &quot;state visit-plus&quot; for&nbsp;Trump, with opera and a lavish banquet, and the US leader has brought a business delegation along for the ride. Deals are expected to be signed, though they may not be enough to allay US concerns about China&#39;s massive trade surplus, which narrowed in October but remained high at a monthly $26.6 billion.

US President Donald?Trump?toured the Forbidden City with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday as he began the crucial leg of an Asian tour intended to build a global front against North Korea's nuclear threats.

US President Donald Trump toured the Forbidden City with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday as he began the crucial leg of an Asian tour intended to build a global front against North Korea's nuclear threats. After warning North Korea's "cruel dictatorship" against testing the United States during a speech in Seoul, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were met by Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan for tea at the former imperial palace. But the genial gathering will be followed on Thursday by a full day of thorny talks, with Trump looking to prod Xi into doing more to squeeze North Korea economically and to address China's massive trade surplus with the United States. The Trump administration sees Beijing as the key to controlling Pyongyang, which depends on China for its economic survival and for 90 percent of its trade. Earlier, Trump congratulated Xi on his reappointment as China's Communist Party chief, tweeting: "I very much look forward to meeting with President Xi who is just off his great political victory." Trump's use of the term "political victory" for the outcome of last month's Communist Party congress was seen by analysts as an attempt to conciliate Xi before tough talks on trade and North Korea. "He's laying it on thick to put Xi in a good mood because he will have unpleasant things to tell him," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, China politics specialist at Hong Kong Baptist University. Xi has prepared an extravagant "state visit-plus" for Trump, with opera and a lavish banquet, and the US leader has brought a business delegation along for the ride. Deals are expected to be signed, though they may not be enough to allay US concerns about China's massive trade surplus, which narrowed in October but remained high at a monthly $26.6 billion.

Watch: Trump arrives in China amid North Korea tensions

Donald Trump slammed North Korea&#39;s &quot;cruel dictatorship&quot; and the severe political oppression inflicted on its people in a speech to Seoul&#39;s parliament on Wednesday.

South Korean lawmakers applauded as the US president, whose tour of Asia has been dominated by fears over the nuclear-armed North, vowed not to be intimidated and warned Pyongyang that it should not test American resolve.

He called for global solidarity against the isolated nation, but he also offered leader Kim Jong-Un a possible &quot;path towards a much better future&quot;.

&quot;Far from valuing its people as equal citizens, this cruel dictatorship measures them, scores them, and ranks them based on the most arbitrary indication of their allegiance to the state,&quot; Trump said in the address.&nbsp;

The North, which this year carried out its sixth nuclear test, generating by far the largest yield to date, has also fired dozens of missiles in recent months.

Two have overflown key US ally Japan, and the regime has claimed that it now has the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile that can travel as far as the US mainland.

Trump, who previously vowed a North Korean Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capability would &quot;never happen&quot;, again warned Pyongyang not to consider an attack.

We will not &quot;allow American cities to be threatened with destruction,&quot; he said in Seoul.

&quot;America does not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will never run from it.

&quot;We will not permit America or our allies to be blackmailed or attacked,&quot; he added.

The mercurial US president, who earlier Wednesday aborted a visit to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas, heads later in the day to China, Pyongyang&#39;s sole major diplomatic ally and protector.

Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said the world had to unite to counter the threat from North Korea.

&quot;All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea,&quot; he said.

&quot;You cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept,&quot; he said, singling out China and Russia.

&#39;A much better future&#39;&nbsp;

While the speech was heavy on Trump&#39;s usual anti-North Korean bombast, he also offered an olive branch, in what he said was a direct message to the country&#39;s young leader.

&quot;The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer,&quot; he said. &quot;They are putting your regime in great danger.&nbsp;

&quot;Yet despite every crime, you have committed against God and man, we will offer a path towards a much better future.&quot;

The US leader&#39;s tone in Seoul, just an hour from the DMZ and a city whose 10 million inhabitants would find themselves on the frontline of any conflict, has been in marked contrast to his previous warnings of &quot;fire and fury&quot;.

&quot;Ultimately, it will all work out,&quot; he said on Tuesday. &quot;It always works out. It has to work out.&quot;

Even so, the North&#39;s Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers&#39; Party, condemned his visit Wednesday.

In an article published before his parliamentary address, the paper called the trip &quot;a deliberate scheme aimed at strengthening military threats against us and to light the fuse of nuclear war&quot;.

&quot;War maniac Trump is pushing tensions to the extreme by spewing threats of war against us,&quot; it said in an editorial.

Donald Trump slammed North Korea's 'cruel dictatorship' and the severe political oppression inflicted on its people in a speech to Seoul's parliament on Wednesday

Donald Trump slammed North Korea's "cruel dictatorship" and the severe political oppression inflicted on its people in a speech to Seoul's parliament on Wednesday. South Korean lawmakers applauded as the US president, whose tour of Asia has been dominated by fears over the nuclear-armed North, vowed not to be intimidated and warned Pyongyang that it should not test American resolve. He called for global solidarity against the isolated nation, but he also offered leader Kim Jong-Un a possible "path towards a much better future". "Far from valuing its people as equal citizens, this cruel dictatorship measures them, scores them, and ranks them based on the most arbitrary indication of their allegiance to the state," Trump said in the address. The North, which this year carried out its sixth nuclear test, generating by far the largest yield to date, has also fired dozens of missiles in recent months. Two have overflown key US ally Japan, and the regime has claimed that it now has the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile that can travel as far as the US mainland. Trump, who previously vowed a North Korean Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capability would "never happen", again warned Pyongyang not to consider an attack. We will not "allow American cities to be threatened with destruction," he said in Seoul. "America does not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will never run from it. "We will not permit America or our allies to be blackmailed or attacked," he added. The mercurial US president, who earlier Wednesday aborted a visit to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas, heads later in the day to China, Pyongyang's sole major diplomatic ally and protector. Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said the world had to unite to counter the threat from North Korea. "All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea," he said. "You cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept," he said, singling out China and Russia. 'A much better future' While the speech was heavy on Trump's usual anti-North Korean bombast, he also offered an olive branch, in what he said was a direct message to the country's young leader. "The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer," he said. "They are putting your regime in great danger. "Yet despite every crime, you have committed against God and man, we will offer a path towards a much better future." The US leader's tone in Seoul, just an hour from the DMZ and a city whose 10 million inhabitants would find themselves on the frontline of any conflict, has been in marked contrast to his previous warnings of "fire and fury". "Ultimately, it will all work out," he said on Tuesday. "It always works out. It has to work out." Even so, the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, condemned his visit Wednesday. In an article published before his parliamentary address, the paper called the trip "a deliberate scheme aimed at strengthening military threats against us and to light the fuse of nuclear war". "War maniac Trump is pushing tensions to the extreme by spewing threats of war against us," it said in an editorial.

North Korea a 'cruel dictatorship' says Trump in Seoul

US President Donald Trump slammed North Korea&#39;s &quot;cruel dictatorship&quot; and the severe political oppression inflicted by the regime in his speech to Seoul&#39;s parliament on Wednesday.

&quot;Far from valuing its people as equal citizens, this cruel dictatorship measures them, scores them, and ranks them based on the most arbitrary indication of their allegiance to the state,&quot; Trump said in the address.&nbsp;

&quot; Won&#39;t allow American cities to be threatened with destruction&quot; Trump said further.

US President Donald Trump slammed North Korea's 'cruel dictatorship' and the severe political oppression inflicted by the regime in his speech to Seoul's parliament on Wednesday

US President Donald Trump slammed North Korea's "cruel dictatorship" and the severe political oppression inflicted by the regime in his speech to Seoul's parliament on Wednesday. "Far from valuing its people as equal citizens, this cruel dictatorship measures them, scores them, and ranks them based on the most arbitrary indication of their allegiance to the state," Trump said in the address. " Won't allow American cities to be threatened with destruction" Trump said further.

Trump denounces 'cruel dictatorship' of North Korea

cruel-dictatorship

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