President Trump continued his tough line on both North Korea and trade Monday, standing alongside Japanese Prime Minster and promising to work in solidarity with Japan to confront “the North Korean menace.”
At an afternoon news conference with Abe here, Trump declared, “the era of strategic patience is over,” and promised to counter “the dangerous aggressions” of a country whose leader the president has repeatedly dubbed “Rocket Man.”
“The regime continues development of its unlawful weapons programs, including its illegal nuclear tests and outrageous launches of ballistic missiles directly overly Japanese territory,” Trump said. “We will not stand for that.”
In his own remarks, Abe affirmed Trump’s stance, saying Japan supports the president’s previous comments that “all options are on the table” and similarly favors an approach of increasing pressure on North Korea rather than continuing dialogue with the nation.
Responding to a question — directed at Abe — about news reports that Trump had previously suggested to the Japanese prime minister that the “samurai” nation should have simply shot down the North Korean missiles that flew over it before crashing into the Pacific Ocean earlier this year, the president answered instead on Abe’s behalf.