Trump Warns That ‘Major, Major Conflict’ With North Korea Is Possible -
By GERRY MULLANYAPRIL 27, 2017
HONG KONG — President Trump warned Thursday of the possibility of a “major, major conflict” with North Korea, in an interview in which he said he was seeking a diplomatic solution to concerns
that Pyongyang was preparing to conduct another nuclear test.
In the interview with Reuters, Mr. Trump praised President Xi Jinping of China for his efforts to resolve the dispute over North Korea’s missile
and nuclear weapons programs, but he cautioned that diplomatic efforts might fail.
Mr. Trump said in the interview that he would seek to have South Korea pay for the system, known
as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad, putting its cost around $1 billion.
Mr. Trump also said that because of the United States’ sizable trade deficit with
South Korea, he intended to renegotiate or end a trade pact with the country.
“We must consider whether it conforms to the spirit of the alliance,” the spokesman, Youn Kwan-suk, said on Friday, accusing Mr. Trump of “demanding unilaterally and without close bilateral consultations
that South Korea pay the cost” of the missile defense system.