Stay cool on Korea, China urges Trump

Tit-for-tat response perilous, Xi warns

BEIJING -- China's president, Xi Jinping, has urged President Donald Trump to show restraint toward North Korea despite signs that the North may be preparing a nuclear test. Xi made the appeal in a phone call with Trump on Monday that reflected growing alarm over North Korea's plans, which could tip the region into crisis.

The phone conversation came after Trump had already used a meeting with Xi in Florida, a follow-up phone call, interviews and Twitter messages to press Xi to do more to deter North Korea from conducting more nuclear and missile tests. The United States and its allies have been on alert for another atomic test by the North.

In the latest call, the third between the two leaders, Xi indicated to Trump that China opposed any such test by North Korea, but he also nudged Trump to avoid a tit-for-tat response to the North's threats, according to a report on Chinese television.

"China adamantly opposes any actions in contravention of the United Nations Security Council resolutions," Xi said, according to the report, evidently referring to a series of decisions by the council to punish North Korea for its nuclear and missile programs.

[PRESIDENT TRUMP: Timeline, appointments, executive orders + guide to actions in first 100 days]

"At the same time, it is hoped that all sides exercise restraint and avoid doing things that exacerbate tensions on the peninsula," Xi said, referring to the Korean Peninsula. "Only if all sides live up to their responsibilities and come together from different directions can the nuclear issue on the peninsula be resolved as quickly as possible."

In Washington on Monday, Trump said "the status quo in North Korea is also unacceptable," and he called on the Security Council to impose new sanctions.

"This is a real threat to the world, whether we want to talk about it or not," Trump said at a White House meeting of Security Council envoys. "North Korea is a big world problem, and it's a problem we have to finally solve. People have put blindfolds on for decades, and now it's time to solve the problem."

The White House said in its brief account of Trump's call with Xi that "the two leaders reaffirmed the urgency of the threat posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, and committed to strengthen coordination in achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

The Trump administration has invited the entire 100-member Senate for a briefing Wednesday on the escalating crisis.

North Korea did not proceed with a nuclear test April 15, which some experts had expected, but work apparently resumed at its atomic test site in Punggye-ri, according to analysts who have assessed satellite images of the site.

South Korean officials say there's a chance the country will conduct its sixth nuclear test or its maiden test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile around the founding anniversary of its military today.

The flaring tensions over North Korea have reopened cracks in its ties with China, which for decades has provided fuel, trade opportunities and a degree of political cover to North Korea.

The Chinese government has recently increased pressure on North Korea. In February, China officially suspended coal shipments from North Korea, and a prominent Chinese newspaper has also raised the threat of choking off oil shipments.

North Korea's official news agency responded over the weekend by warning China of "catastrophic consequences" for their relationship if economic sanctions continued, reported Yonhap, the South Korean news service.

But Monday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry stuck to pleas for calm from all sides when asked repeatedly about North Korea, its threats to China and the possibility of another nuclear test.

"The situation on the peninsula is complicated and sensitive," the spokesman, Geng Shuang, said.

In addition to his discussion with Xi, Trump also spoke with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan on Monday morning in Tokyo, Abe told reporters.

Abe told the president that he strongly endorsed Trump's position that all options were "on the table."

Trump's U.N. ambassador said Monday that the United States could strike North Korea if it attacks a U.S. military base or tests an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In several television interviews, Nikki Haley praised China's involvement in trying to pressure North Korea to cease missile testing and criticized Pyongyang's leader, Kim Jong Un, as unstable and paranoid.

Asked about the threshold for U.S. action, Haley told NBC's Today Show that "if you see him attack a military base, if you see some sort of intercontinental ballistic missile, then obviously we're going to do that."

Haley said the U.S. wasn't looking for a fight and wouldn't attack North Korea "unless he gives us reason to do something."

In South Korea, the nuclear-powered USS Michigan submarine arrived at Busan in what was described as a routine port visit to rest the crew and load supplies. Commander Jang Wook from the South Korean navy public affairs office said there is no plan for any drill. Busan is on the southeast coast.

Information for this article was contributed by Chris Buckley, Adam Wu, Yufan Huang and Motoko Rich of The New York Times; and by staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 04/25/2017

Upcoming Events