The United States lost strategic patience toward North Korea. "The era of strategic patience is over," said Vice-President Mike Pence in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Monday in South Korea. He was referring to the policy that prevailed for most of the Obama administration.

This approach reflects the conviction that the United States, working closely with the United Nations and Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, can create enough international pressure to eventually push North Korea towards denuclearization. Team trump has come to the conclusion that the growing success of North Korea in the field of manufacturing supply of nuclear weapons means that the time has come for decisive action and a great urgency.

Pence also said? that Pyongyang "does not question the determination of the trump" - and it is possible that trump has pushed Beijing to pressure its unpredictable ally and trading partner. But the fundamental military-strategic equation in northeast Asia has not changed. There are still doubts about the ability of China and its willingness to persuade North Korea to the will of Washington, for example, by stopping the supply of fuel, food and investments that support the Kim regime.

Trump hopes that the Chinese will use the leverage that they have. But there is a question about how far China will go. Trump is not the first US President who trusts in China. On the other hand, perhaps the pressure of trump, his threats and the unpredictable nature helped to budge Beijing.
sections: Politics, World News, Accidents