Donald Trump, Xi Jinping reiterate North Korea must end its military provocations: White House

Washington: US president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping on Saturday reiterated their mutual commitment to de-nuclearise the Korean Peninsula and agreed that North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behaviour, the White House said. The two leaders spoke over phone to discuss the escalating tension after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un threatened the US this week to fire missiles at Guam, a US island territory, after the US sponsored a resolution imposing new economic sanctions on Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear weapons programmes. [caption id=“attachment_3783445” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of US president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. AP[/caption] The two leaders affirmed that the recent adoption of a new UN Security Council resolution regarding North Korea was an important and necessary step toward achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, the White House said after the phone call. “President Trump and President Xi agreed North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behaviour,” the White House said, adding that the two leaders also reiterated their mutual commitment to de-nuclearise the Korean Peninsula.   “Trump looks forward to seeing President Xi in China later this year, a meeting that will be a very historic event,” the White House said. “The relationship between the two Presidents is an extremely close one, and will hopefully lead to a peaceful resolution of the North Korea problem,” it said. Xi told Trump that China is ready to work with the US to “appropriately resolve” the issue, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. “The concerned parties should avoid remarks and actions that could escalate tensions on the peninsula,” Xi was quoted by the report. “The relevant side must at present exercise restraint, and avoid words and actions that exacerbate tensions on the Korean peninsula,” the report paraphrased Xi as saying. Xi told Trump that China is willing to keep close contacts with the US, on the basis of mutual respect, to seek a sound settlement on the issue, he added. In another statement, the White House said Trump spoke with Guam governor Eddie Calvo. “Trump reassured governor Calvo and our fellow Americans on Guam that United States forces stand ready to ensure the safety and security of the people of Guam, along with the rest of America,” it said. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly spoke separately to Calvo earlier in the day, the statement said. Guam has about 7,000 US troops with almost a third of the land controlled by the US military.