Jonathan Kaiman & Jessica Meyers, L.A. Times: North Korea’s sixth nuclear test was more than a slap in the face to President Trump. It also sent a signal to China
North Korea’s claim that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb dramatically raised the stakes Sunday in its escalating confrontation with neighbors across northeast Asia, and with a U.S. administration that is increasingly running out of good options.
Japan and South Korea’s leaders condemned the latest sign that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, unfazed by strict U.N. sanctions and a chorus of international condemnation, has accelerated the country’s nuclear and missile development with astonishing success.
President Trump denounced it as “very hostile and dangerous to the United States.”
But Chinese officials met an even more sobering reality — that Beijing, Pyongyang’s top ally and trading partner, has also become a target of its wrath.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: I do not see North Korea's nuclear test as a slap at President Trump, if anything it validates what he has been saying about North Korea since the beginning. The ones who have been "slapped" are South Korean President Moon Jae-in who has been pushing for a dialogue with North Korea since his election earlier this year, and Chinese President Xi who assured President Trump when they met in April that China's approach towards North Korea would produce results. For the Chinese .... to have this happen while hosting the BRICs summit in Xiamen .... must not only be a shock for them, but also a realization that North Korea has become a very dangerous foe that has zero interest in respecting Chinese interests.As for Kim Jong-Un .... he must be feeling very safe right now. He has now demonstrated to the world that he has the means and will to deter his neighbors from overthrowing him ..... and I include China on that list.
