Trump Bucks Usual Aggression Opens The Door To Negotiations With North Korea
President Donald Trump  took a far more measured tone during  his  address to South Korea’s National Assembly on Wednesday  touting the option of diplomacy with North Korea while delivering a strong message to the country’s leader that it must end its nuclear weapons program.
Trump  speaking in Seoul as part of  his  12-day tour of Asia  delivered a direct and at times heavy-handed message to Kim Jong Un  telling the North Korean leader: “Do not underestimate us. Do not try us.”
Other  Trump  administration officials  including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis  have said diplomacy would remain on the table “until the first bomb drops.”
 Trump’s  speech Wednesday  which included a sweeping history of the conflict on the Korean peninsula  included some overt hits at the North  including  his  assertion that the region “is a country ruled by a cult.”  He  pointed to human rights abuses by Pyongyang against its own people and acts of aggression including the recent death of American student Otto Warmbier  who  Trump  said was “tortured” to death.
“We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction  we will not be intimidated and we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here  on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure ”  Trump  said. “To those nations that choose to ignore this threat ― or  worse still  to enable it ― the weight of this crisis is on your conscience.”
A surprise visit by  Trump  and Moon to the Korean Demilitarized Zone  the heavily-armed buffer region between North and South Korea  was canceled at the last minute on Wednesday due to poor weather. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the planned visit  even though it did not take place  was of a “historic nature” and showed “the strength of the alliance” between the U.S. and South Korea.
[TGT]took a far more measured tone during  [TGT]  address to South Korea’s National Assembly on Wednesday  touting the option of diplomacy with North Korea while delivering a strong message to the country’s leader that it must end its nuclear weapons program.
[TGT]speaking in Seoul as part of  [TGT]  12-day tour of Asia  delivered a direct and at times heavy-handed message to Kim Jong Un  telling the North Korean leader: “Do not underestimate us. Do not try us.”
Other  [TGT]  administration officials  including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis  have said diplomacy would remain on the table “until the first bomb drops.”
 Trump’s  speech Wednesday  which included a sweeping history of the conflict on the Korean peninsula  included some overt hits at the North  including  his  assertion that the region “is a country ruled by a cult.”  He  pointed to human rights abuses by Pyongyang against its own people and acts of aggression including the recent death of American student Otto Warmbier  who  [TGT]said was “tortured” to death.
“We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction  we will not be intimidated and we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here  on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure ”  [TGT]said. “To those nations that choose to ignore this threat ― or  worse still  to enable it ― the weight of this crisis is on your conscience.”
A surprise visit by  [TGT]and Moon to the Korean Demilitarized Zone  the heavily-armed buffer region between North and South Korea  was canceled at the last minute on Wednesday due to poor weather. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the planned visit  even though it did not take place  was of a “historic nature” and showed “the strength of the alliance” between the U.S. and South Korea.