Trump's warning to North Korea is firm and specific: South Korea
In a hard-edged speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump mockedNorth?Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a "rocket man" for his repeated ballistic missile tests.
U.S. President DonaldTrump'sspeech to the United Nations, where he warned he would "totally destroy"NorthKoreaif threatened, reinforced the need for Pyongyang to realise it must give up its nuclear weapons,SouthKoreasaid on Wednesday.
In a hard-edged speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump mockedNorthKorean leader Kim Jong Un as a "rocket man" for his repeated ballistic missile tests.
"We view the speech as portraying afirmand specific stance on the key issues regarding keeping peace and safety that the international community and the United Nations are faced with," the office ofSouthKorean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement on Wednesday.
"It clearly showed how seriously the United States government viewsNorthKorea's nuclear programme as the president spent an unusual amount of time discussing the issue," the presidential Blue House's statement said.
Trump'sspeech "reaffirmed thatNorthKoreashould be made to realize denuclearisation is the only way to the future through utmost sanctions and pressure", it said.
Moon came to power in May on a platform of more engagement withNorthKorea. Since Pyongyang's sixth and largest nuclear test earlier on September3, however, Moon has said the time is not right for dialogue.
He and Trump plan to meet in New York early on Wednesday UStime, Moon's office said.
"GREAT STRENGTH"
Trump'smost direct military threat to attackNorthKoreawas his latest expression of concern about Pyongyang's repeated weapons tests.
"The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroyNorthKorea," Trump told the 193-member world body. "Rocketman is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime."
U.S. ally Japan, which Pyongyang often threatens to destroy, has taken a consistently hard line onNorthKorea, pushing for increased sanctions and pressure.
"We greatly appreciate President Trump’s approach to changingNorthKorea’s policy stance, denuclearising the country and calling on the international community, including China and Russia, for their cooperation toward strengthening pressure onNorthKorea," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
Suga also welcomedTrump'sreference to a Japanese girl who was kidnapped byNorthKorean agents in 1977.
The plight of abductees is a key issue for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pledged to rescue them while in office, and an emotive one for the Japanese public.
NorthKoreaadmitted in 2002 it had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies. Five of them returned to Japan but Tokyo suspects that hundreds more may have been taken.
STRICT SANCTIONS
NorthKorea, which has conducted more than 80 missile tests under third-generation leader Kim, says it needs its weapons to protect itself from U.S. aggression.SouthKoreaand the United States are technically still at war withNorthKoreaafter the 1950-53Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.
USSecretary of State Rex Tillerson, interviewed by Fox News on Tuesday, highlighted Washington's policy of pressuringNorthKoreathrough sanctions.
"We have the strictest sanctions ever put in place. We do believe there are early signs of those having an effect," he said. "Ultimately, though, we're going to need the assistance of the neighbours in the region."
The UNSecurity Council has unanimously imposed nine rounds of sanctions onNorthKorea since 2006, the latest earlier this month aimed at restricting fuel supplies and cutting off textile exports, a key foreign exchange earner.
The United States has urged China,NorthKorea's main ally and trading partner, and Russia to do more to rein in Kim, something Trump appeared to allude to in his speech.
"It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime but would arm, supply and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict," Trump told the General Assembly.
China's Foreign Ministry asked to respond toTrump'scomments about destroyingNorthKoreaif it had to, said U.N. resolutions were clear theKorean peninsula issue should be resolved peacefully through political and diplomatic means.
The resolutions passed by the UNSecurity Council onNorthKoreareflected the "common will and consensus of the international community" to denuclearisation of theKorean Peninsula, Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing.