Trump Praises Kim Jong Un's 'Wise' Decision

'The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 16, 2017 11:45 AM CDT
Trump Praises 'Wise' North Korea Decision
President Trump points to a member of the media while speaking in the lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday in New York.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Trump had nicer words than "fire and fury" for North Korea Wednesday morning, Politico reports. "Kim Jong Un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision. The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!" Trump tweeted, referring to the country's decision Tuesday to hold off on firing missiles toward Guam. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the White House wants to have a dialogue with Pyongyang, but it needs to see a sign North Korea is similarly open to the idea. Talks will happen "when they show that they are serious ... about an effort to move toward denuclearization, and we have not seen that yet," says a State Department spokesperson, per CBS News.

NBC News looks at the "cooler response" observers in Asia have had toward the US-North Korea tensions. "Those of us who've been here for a long time, we tend to think it's saber rattling," says one Seoul teacher. But CBS notes that others in Seoul protested Tuesday, demanding a peaceful resolution to the conflict. And the Hill talks to experts about why this particular standoff is different, including the fact that North Korea, by all accounts, has advanced its nuclear technology quite a bit. (More North Korea stories.)

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