Washington has confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump had expressed support for Seoul's possible humanitarian assistance to North Korea during a phone call with President Moon Jae-in.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Wednesday that Washington's primary focus remains on North Korea's denuclearization.
Sanders said the U.S. will continue with its maximum pressure campaign against the regime but said that it would not intervene in Seoul's move to send food aid to North Korea despite the recent firing of weapons from Pyeongyang earlier this month.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the international community must continue to keep the "pressure campaign" on North Korea and that it is imperative for the security of the world.
According to VOA, Pompeo highlighted the importance of the Trump administration's diplomatic efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the regime.
Speaking in London on Wednesday local time, the U.S. State Secretary also thanked the British navy for deploying its assets to the Pacific to deter illegal ship-to-ship transfers of North Korean fuel, which are against the UN sanctions on the regime.
Officials from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan met in Seoul on Thursday. to discuss military cooperation and regional security issues.
Prior to the meeting, the U.S. and Japan held bilateral talks at the U.S. embassy in Seoul.
These talks come at a time when military relations between South Korea and Japan have soured after Tokyo claimed a South Korean warship locked its radar onto a low-flying Japanese maritime patrol aircraft late last year.
Seoul strongly denies the claim.
North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying its firing of short-range projectiles off its east coast last Saturday was a self-defensive training in nature.
Such comments appear to be aimed at South Korea after Seoul's Defense Ministry warned that the military activity went against the intent of the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, urging Pyeongyang to refrain from raising military tensions on the Peninsula.
The U.S. has been keeping it quiet on Pyeongyang's recent military activity, until its top defense official said North Korea launched "rockets and missiles" at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday - the first time the Pentagon has detailed what it believes the regime fired.
According to Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford called up and told him that North Korea was now shooting missiles and rockets.
Seoul and Washington are still analyzing what the regime shot last week.
U.S. President Donald Trump has accused China of "breaking the deal" in the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Florida on Wednesday, President Trump attributed his recent threat of tariff increases to Beijing's negotiating position.
Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods in a Twitter post last weekend, accusing China of backtracking on provisions of a draft trade deal.
On Wednesday local time, the U.S. Trade Representative's office filed paperwork to raise tariffs on 2-hundred billion U.S. dollars of Chinese imports to 25 percent from the previous 10 percent, effective this coming Friday.
In response, China's Commerce Ministry said it will take necessary countermeasures, adding that it deeply regrets the Trump Administration's latest action.
Source: Arirang News
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