White House: Time Is Up North Korea

Apr 04, 2017 by Natasha Marie in International

The White House has issued a warning to North Korea.

A senior White House official has issued a dire warning, through reporters, to North Korea on Tuesday.

“The clock has now run out, and all options are on the table,” the official said. Earlier, two senior White House officials were briefing reporters ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The briefing took place on the condition of anonymity according to CNN.

The official also stated that the matter is an urgent one in the eyes of the President. Trump reportedly plans to urge China to exert its influence over North Korea in the hopes it will halt further advancement of its nuclear program. As reported earlier, President Trump has stated that he is willing to pursue quashing the program alone if China refuses to cooperate.

Skepticism of success without China.

A number of former and current U.S. officials have stated however doing so without China’s cooperation would be almost impossible. On Tuesday, Gen. John Hyten, commander of US Strategic Command, stated China was critical to solving the North Korea problem.

“Any solution to the North Korean problem has to involve China,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Hyten added that while he believed Beijing’s involvement was critical, he will provide military options to the president if asked. “I’ll provide those military options. So that’s my job but I look at it from a strategic perspective and I can’t see a solution that doesn’t involve China. China is the definition of North Korea’s backyard.” Hyten stated that the economic links between the two countries made China a pivotal player.

For now however, the world can only sit and watch as history plays out.