A day after the US president said China's efforts on North Korea had failed, his secretary of state has asked for Beijing's help. The situation has been complicated by the death of a US student imprisoned by Pyongyang.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/Planet Pix/G. Johnson
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Trump says China should help more on NKorea
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged China to help pressure North Korea to rein in its weapons programs.
"[China has a] diplomatic responsibility to exert much greater economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime if they want to prevent further escalation in the region," he said in Washington. Tillerson said North Korea was the "top security threat" to the US.
Tillerson made the comments at a press conference after high-level talks with Chinese officials at the State Department.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis vowed at the same press conference to "continue to take necessary measures to defend ourselves and our allies" against North Korea, which is working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US.
The meeting of top US and Chinese diplomats and defense chiefs came just a day after US President Donald Trump said China's efforts to use its leverage with Pyongyang had failed.
On Tuesday, Trump posted a tweet suggesting Chinese President Xi Jinping's efforts were ineffective, a message he reiterated before supporters in Iowa.
"I do like President Xi," he told the crowd Wednesday evening. "I wish we would have a little more help with respect to North Korea, from China. That doesn't seem to be working."
Trump did not elaborate on what might happen next if China fails to rein in its ally.
Complicated position
Trump's approach to North Korea was further complicated by the death of American university student Otto Warmbier earlier this week, after he was recently released in a comatose state 17 months after being jailed in Pyongyang.
In Beijing, officials insisted they have not given up hope of influencing Pyongyang.
"To resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, China has been making unremitting efforts and we have been playing an important and constructive role," said Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesman, while stressing China was not the "focus and the crux" of the crisis.
Tillerson said Trump would make a state visit to China later this year, and Mattis said both sides had agreed to expand military-to-military ties.
A US official said on Tuesday that spy satellites had detected new movements at North Korea's nuclear test site, but it was unclear if Pyongyang was preparing for a sixth nuclear test.
North Korea hits back, labels Trump a 'psychopath'
The North Korean regime on Thursday sought to stoke tensions and take advantage of the US' difficult position by calling Trump a "psychopath" and warning South Korea against following Washington's lead.
Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said that "South Korea must realize that following psychopath Trump...will only lead to disaster."
The newspaper also claimed that the US president was toying with the idea of a preemptive strike on the North as a means of diverting attention from the political crisis he faces at home.
North Korea has carried out a number of atomic and ballistic missile tests since last year, ratcheting up tensions with its regional neighbors and the US.
ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength
For years, the international community downplayed the threat of North Korea's military power. With the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, it is clear that Pyongyang's military capabilities are growing.
Image: Gettty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Major achievement
In early June 2017, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time. Testing an ICBM marked a major military achievement for Pyongyang and a serious escalation of tensions with the United States and its allies in the region, particularly South Korea and Japan.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Trouble with warheads
At the time, defense experts said the ICBM could reach as far as the US states of Alaska and Hawaii. However, it was unclear if North Korea can field an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on its cone that could survive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. North Korean state media claimed the ICBM was capable of carrying a "large, heavy nuclear warhead" to any part of the United States.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Pyongyang's nuclear tests - six times and counting
The ICBM is believed to be a step forward in the North's nuclear program. Despite pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. Alongside its ritual ballistic missile tests, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests on at least six occasions, including one in September 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/KCNA
US running out of patience?
Responding to the first ICBM test with a show of force, the US and South Korean troops on conducted "deep strike" precision missile drills using Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II. In April, the US sent its Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula, saying it was taking prudent measures against the North.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/M. Brown
Testing the boundaries
Ignoring international condemnation, Pyongyang test-launched another rocket on July 28, 2017, just weeks after its first ICBM test. In both of the tests, North Korea used Hwasong-14 missile, but the second one reached a higher altitude and traveled a larger distance than the first one, according to the state media.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/KCNA
Whole of US within range?
Pyongyang conducted its third test November 29, using a newly developed Hwasong-15 missile. US, Japanese and South Korean officials said it rose to about 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and flew 960 kilometers (600 miles) over about 50 minutes before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone off the country's coast.
Image: picture-alliance/MAXPPP
One of the world's largest militaries
Apart from a developing missile and nuclear program, North Korea has a powerful army with 700,000 active troops and another 4.5 million in the reserves. It can call upon almost a quarter of its population to serve in the army at any given time. The North's bloated army is believed to outnumber its southern neighbor's by two-to-one.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Vast capabilities
According to the 2017 Global Firepower Index, the North has, as part of a far-reaching arsenal, 458 fighter aircraft, 5,025 combat tanks, 76 submarines, and 5,200,000 total military personnel. The picture above from 2013 shows leader Kim Jong Un ordering strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Enemies all around
Alongside the United States, Pyongyang views its neighbors South Korea and Japan as its two other main enemies. North Korea has used US military exercises in the region as means of galvanizing its people, claiming that the exercises are dress rehearsals for an impending invasion.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Huge, colorful demonstrations of military might
Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and citizens roll through the streets of the capital Pyongyang to take part in the North's military parades. Preparations for the rallies often begin months in advance, and the parades usually mark important anniversaries linked with the Communist Party or Kim Jong Un's family.
