ZCZC
BFF-19
US-NKOREA-DIPLOMACY-POLITICS
Trump says N.Korea suffering, doesn’t need new sanctions
PALM BEACH, United States, March 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald
Trump on Friday reaffirmed that he would stop new sanctions on North Korea,
saying the country was suffering and he valued his relationship with its
authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump shed light on his tweet a week ago that took Washington by surprise
in which he said he was rolling back sanctions on North Korea that the
Treasury Department had planned.
“They are suffering greatly in North Korea. They’re having a hard time in
North Korea,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“And I just didn’t think additional sanctions at this time were necessary.
Doesn’t mean I don’t put them on later but I didn’t think additional
sanctions at this time were necessary,” he said.
A month after his latest summit with Kim ended in stalemate in Vietnam,
Trump said he got along “very well” with the young leader, adding: “We
understand each other.”
“I think it is very important you maintain that relationship at least as
long as you can,” Trump said.
Trump’s announcement last week on the sanctions raised eyebrows as he said
he was reversing sanctions that had been announced that day but which had
not.
Answering a question Friday, Trump said the sanctions had been set to be
announced at the time but that he stopped them.
The United States nonetheless last week took a separate action of
sanctioning two Chinese shipping companies for dealing with North Korea.
Senior administration officials have said that the United States will keep
imposing “maximum pressure” on North Korea by maintaining sanctions until Kim
gives up his nuclear program.
Trump appeared to heed his advisors in Hanoi when he walked away, with the
North Koreans seeking immediate sanctions relief.
Trump’s warm rapport with Kim and reluctance to cause economic harm comes
in stark contrast to his stance on other US adversaries such as Iran and
Venezuela, on which his administration has relentlessly imposed sanctions.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0946 hrs