Trump declares that North Korea is ‘looking for trouble’ as tensions rise

President Trump suggested on Tuesday that he could sweeten the terms of a trade agreement with China if Beijing assists in solving the North Korea “problem” — but that the United States is prepared to move forward in the western Pacific without Chinese help.

“I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!” Trump tweeted early Tuesday, three days after hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“North Korea is looking for trouble,” Trump wrote. “If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”

Over the weekend, Trump deployed a U.S. Navy strike group to the Korean Peninsula as “a show of

force,”

In turn, North Korea warned of tough counteraction against the United States if there is any sign of a U.S. strike against Pyongyang.

“The [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the U.S.,” a spokesman for the North’s foreign ministry said, according to state news agency KCNA.

“Our revolutionary strong army is keenly watching every move by enemy elements with our nuclear sight focused on the U.S. invasionary bases not only in South Korea and the Pacific operation theater but also in the U.S. mainland,” North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper declared.

North Korea is one of Trump’s most difficult national security challenges. On Barack Obama’s watch, Pyongyang made enough progress on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that, experts predict, it could strike the U.S. mainland, possibly even the East Coast, in two to three years.

The Obama administration enlisted China and other world powers in two rounds of international sanctions and left Trump options for further tightening the economic vise, according to administration and congressional sources.

China is the key to North Korea policy because it’s the smaller country’s patron — its source of food and fuel. Reuters reported early Tuesday morning that China had ordered its trading companies to return coal shipments, a key North Korea export, to the Stalinist regime in Pyongyang.

Trump’s Tuesday tweets come amid simmering tensions surrounding several global hot spots, including North Korea and Syria. Last week, Trump ordered an airstrike on a Syrian airfield in response to a deadly chemical attack that was allegedly carried out by the Syrian government against its own citizens. Administration officials have warned that Russia could be held accountable for its support of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Speaking to reporters in Italy on Tuesday en route to Moscow, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pointed to Russia’s prior agreement to rid Syria of chemical weapons. Tillerson said it was unclear whether the Kremlin was incompetent or complicit in the attack — but that the distinction “doesn’t much matter to the dead.”

“We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people,” Tillerson said. “Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role. Or Russia can maintain its alliance.”