President Trump tweeted Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a “wise and well reasoned decision,” after backing off from a plan to fire four ballistic missiles at the U.S. territory of Guam.
“The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!” Trump tweeted.
It came a day after North Korean state media reported that Kim would watch “the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees” before deciding whether to approve plans to launch missiles toward the Pacific island.
Kim was briefed on the missile plan Monday and said he would observe Washington’s actions “a little more,” state media reported.
The statement followed a week of warnings from Trump and his top military advisers that any provocative actions by North Korea would trigger a ferocious U.S. military response.
Analysis: North Korea, U.S. curb military threats but diplomatic progress remains elusive
More: North Korea crisis: Kim Jong Un waits for next move by ‘stupid Yankees’
More: U.S. missile defense system is effective but not foolproof against North Korea
China, the North’s most important ally, on Wednesday urged the United States and North Korea to “hit the brakes” on threats and work toward a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the issue during a phone conversation Tuesday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Chinese authorities said.
“The most important task at hand is for the U.S. and North Korea to ‘hit the brakes’ on their mutual needling of each other with words and actions, to lower the temperature of the tense situation and prevent the emergence of an ‘August crisis,’” Wang said, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website.
The ministry quoted Lavrov as saying tensions could rise again as the U.S. and South Korea are scheduled to conduct military exercises on Aug. 21.
“A resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue by military force is completely unacceptable and the peninsula’s nuclear issue must be peacefully resolved by political and diplomatic methods,” Lavrov said, according to Chinese authorities.
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