POTUS makes a strong stand against North Korea stating that the U.S. strategic patience with North Korea is over”.
POTUS opened his remarks at the Rose Garden on Friday morning with a referral to the war memories the U.S. shares with South Korea and the strong alliance that has been forged through history. He stressed that the cornerstone of the U.S. relationship with South Korea is to assure peace and security “in a very dangerous part of the world.”
POTUS then moved on to send an unequivocal message to North Korea qualifying its regime “reckless and brutal” with no respect for human life stressing once again his condemnation for the tragic destiny of Otto Warmbier.
“The era of strategic patience with North Korea has failed. Frankly, that patience is over,” the U.S. Commander in Chief announced in front of the domestic and international press pool at the Rose Garden.
In his statement, POTUS called for the regional powers and other allies to follow the example of the U.S. and to implement sanctions to North Korea. While the U.S. goal is peace, prosperity, and stability in the region, POTUS made a firm statement that the U.S. will defend itself and its allies.
For President Moon, the U.S. visit has been the first stop on his foreign trip. In his statement, he said that “Trump is the man of determination” and that the two leaders were able to forge a friendship and deep mutual trust as a foundation to tackle numerous challenges with the denuclearization of North Korea being the top priority from the standpoint of international security and global affairs.
President Moon took a moment to once again send his condolences for Otto Warmbier saying that as a former human rights attorney he understands the necessity of working with the community of nations on the issue of human rights.
POTUS took no questions from the press. Spotted in the Rose Garden were Gary Cohn, Jared Kushner, Michael Anton and Kellyanne Conway.