HOLD UP

Trump: N. Korea Made ‘Very Wise and Well-Reasoned’ Choice to Back Off of Guam

As other nations encourage diplomatic solutions.

President Trump on Wednesday tweeted in apparent approval of North Korea’s latest move to back off of its threat against Guam, writing, “Kim Jong Un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision. The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!” The news comes just days after North Korean leader Kim said he decided not to launch an attack on Guam—but warned he could always change his mind. Also on Wednesday, China urged North Korea and the United States to “hit the brakes” on their threats against one another. “The most important task at hand is for the U.S. and North Korea to ‘hit the brakes’ on their mutual needling of each other with words and actions, to lower the temperature of the tense situation and prevent the emergence of an ‘August crisis,’” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday. Wang, on a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, noted that Russia and China should work together to lessen tensions so that no one is able to “stir up an incident on their doorstep.”