South Korean President Moon Jae-in says U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to seek Seoul's approval before taking any military action against North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
President Moon vowed on Wednesday to prevent another military conflict on the Korean Peninsula during a televised news conference marking his first 100 days in office, saying the nation had worked hard to rebuild after the 1950-53 civil war between North and South Korea. The war ended with a truce, so the two sides technically remain in a state of war.
Moon's comments came hours after his American counterpart posted on Twitter that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made "a very wise and well reasoned decision" to postpone a plan to launch missiles toward the shores of the U.S. territory of Guam. "The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!" Trump wrote.
The North Korean leader was quoted Tuesday in state media as saying he would for the moment call off the plan to fire four missiles over Japan into the waters near Guam, 3,400 kilometers to the south, to see "if the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous, reckless actions."
Trump exchanged a series of belligerent remarks with Pyongyang after the United Nations Security Council passed a new round of sanctions against North Korea aimed at cutting a third of North Korea's export income, worth $1 billion annually, and following reports that the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency reached a conclusion last month that the North has successfully built a miniaturized nuclear warhead it could fit inside its missiles.
Kim has boasted that North Korea has the capability of striking the U.S. mainland with a missile, while Trump says the United States would answer any attack with "fire and fury like the world has never seen."
South Korea's Moon said Trump's combative rhetoric was not meant as a show of willingness to take military action, but intended instead to show a strong resolve to pressure the North.
The liberal-leaning Moon entered office in May on a promise to restore engagement with Pyongyang, including appointing a special envoy to the North, but his outreach has been rejected by the isolated regime. Moon said Thursday that he was willing to be patient with the North, but warned that it would be crossing a "red line" if it arms an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a nuclear warhead.
韩国总统文在寅说，美国总统川普保证，针对朝鲜核武器和弹道导弹项目采取军事行动前，会征求韩国的同意。
文在寅星期三发表就职百日电视讲话时，誓言要防止朝鲜半岛再次发生军事冲突。文在寅说，1950年到1953年朝鲜与韩国爆发战争后，韩国努力重建。这场战争最后以停战告终，因此交战双方从技术上说依然处于战争状态。
文在寅发表上述评论前的几个小时，美国总统川普在推特上说，朝鲜领导人金正恩推迟向美国属地关岛海岸发射导弹是“非常聪明，很理智的决定”。川普还说：“相反的决定将是灾难性的，不可接受的。”
朝鲜官方媒体星期二引述金正恩的话说，他暂不实施向日本以南3400公里处的关岛附近水域发射四枚导弹的计划，看看“美国佬是否还要继续他们极端危险和草率的行动”。
川普近来与平壤方面相互威胁，火药味十足。在此之前，联合国安理会批准对朝鲜实施新一轮制裁，目的是把朝鲜每年的出口收入减少三分之一，相当于大约10亿美元。此外，美国国防情报局上个月得出结论，朝鲜已经成功生产出了可以装在导弹上的微型核弹头。
金正恩宣称，朝鲜的导弹可以打到美国大陆，与此同时，川普则表示，对朝鲜的任何攻击，美国都会以“这个世界从未见过的烈焰与愤怒”予以回应。
韩国总统文在寅说，川普咄咄逼人的辞令并不是为了表示采取军事行动的意愿，而是为了显示对朝鲜施加压力的决心。
自由派政治家文在寅5月份就职时曾保证要恢复与朝鲜的接触，包括任命朝鲜特使，但是他的努力遭到了朝鲜政权的回绝。文在寅星期四说，他对朝鲜愿意保持耐心，但同时警告说，如果朝鲜在洲际弹道导弹上安装核弹头的话，就等于是越过了“红色警戒线”。