Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd Annual UN General Assembly in New York on September 19, 2017.
President Donald Trump said he will announce new sanctions on North Korea on Thursday as the U.S. aims to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
National security advisor H.R. McMaster earlier said the president will make an “important announcement” as he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in later in the day.
“The president will make an important announcement today about the continuation of our efforts to resolve this problem with North Korea short of war,” he told CNN on Thursday morning. “And he’ll make that announcement as he meets with our very close allies South Korea and Japan.”
McMaster did not say, specifically, what action Trump plans to take.
Trump has separate bilateral meetings with both Moon and Abe on Thursday. He also will eat lunch with both leaders.
North Korea has tested ballistic missiles and an apparent hydrogen bomb in recent weeks in the face of international economic sanctions and warnings. On Tuesday, Trump told the U.N. General Assembly that the U.S. “will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea” if it is forced to defend itself or its allies.
Last week, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed fresh measures to punish the communist dictatorship economically, with the support of China and Russia. Trump has repeatedly pressed China, North Korea’s only major ally, to do more to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Trump advisors have repeatedly said they want to use diplomatic methods to curb North Korea’s aggression.
