From: slider@anashram.org

TOKYO: President Donald Trump on Monday refused to rule out eventual
military action against North Korea+ and declared that the United States
"will not stand" for Pyongyang menacing America or its allies.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/donald-trump-says-us-will-arm-japan-to-knock-down-korea-missiles/articleshow/61533003.cms

In his first stop of an extended trip in Asia, Trump stood with Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a news conference and suggested the United
States will arm Japan, much as the United States has done with allies in
the Middle East like Saudi Arabia. He did not deny reports that he has expressed frustration that Japan did not shoot down a ballistic missile
North Korea recently fired over its territory.

"He will shoot 'em out of the sky when he completes the purchase of lots
of additional military equipment from the United States," Trump said of
Abe. "He will easily shoot them out of the sky." [slider laffing his head off...]

Japan, under its war-renouncing Constitution, can shoot down a missile
only when it is aimed at the country or in case debris are falling on to
its territory.

Some hawkish members of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party say that it may be possible to shoot down a missile headed toward Guam in case it causes existential threat to the US as Japan's ally, but experts say that is questionable.

Trump's trip abroad comes amid dismal ratings among voters for the
first-time president and questions about whether he can handle the nuclear standoff with North Korea.+

Standing in an Asia capital in range of North Korea's missiles, Trump
defended his fiery language, declaring Pyongyang "a threat to the
civilized world.''

"Some people say my rhetoric is very strong but look what has happened
with very weak rhetoric in the last 25 years,'' said Trump with Abe at the
news conference.

Abe, who has taken a more hawkish view on North Korea than some of his predecessors, agreed with Trump's assessment that "all options are on the table'' when dealing with Kim Jong Un and announced new sanctions against several dozen North Korea individuals.

Japan is already seeking money to purchase upgraded SM3 interceptors with greater accuracy and range, as well as other advanced missile defense
systems such as land-based Aegis Ashore interceptors or the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, a US mobile anti-missile system
installed in South Korea. An installment of THAAD in Japan would further escalate reaction from Beijing, which has already balked at the
installment of THAAD in South Korea, saying its advanced radar system can monitor deep into China.

Trump and Abe have struck a strong friendship+ , forged in meetings, phone calls and on the golf course a friendship that was on display at a Monday evening banquet that was the final event of Trump's visit. Abe called
Trump his "dear friend'' and hailed the benefits of what he called "golf diplomacy.''

The two men on Monday also put a face on the threat posed by the North,
earlier standing with anguished families of Japanese citizens snatched by Pyongyang's agents.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump stood with nearly two dozen relatives,
some of whom held photos of the missing. Seeking to increase pressure on
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump pledged to work to return the
missing to their families, saying "it's a very, very sad number of stories
that we've heard.''

North Korea has acknowledged apprehending 13 Japanese in the 1970s and
1980s, but claims they all died or have been released. But in Japan, where grieving relatives of the abducted have become a symbol of heartbreak on
the scale of American POW families, the government insists many more were
taken and that some may still be alive.

Trump complained Monday that Japan had been ``winning'' for decades and
rebuked the current relationship, saying the trade deals were ``not fair
and not open.'' He told a group of American and Japanese business leaders:
the United States was open for business, but he wanted to reshape the
nations' trade relationship, though he did not say how he would cut the
trade deficit with Japan, which totaled nearly $70 billion last year.

He also downplayed the potentially contentious nature of the negotiations, though the Japanese government has not shown much appetite for striking a
new bilateral trade agreement. Tokyo had pushed to preserve the Trans-
Pacific Partnership, which Trump has abandoned.

``We will have more trade than anybody ever thought under TPP. That I can
tell you,'' Trump said. He said the multinational agreement was not the
right deal for the United States and that while ``probably some of you in
this room disagree ... ultimately I'll be proven to be right.''

Abe, for his part, publicly deflected questions about trade.


Japan orchestrated a lavish formal welcome for the Trumps, complete with military honor guard and an audience with Japan's Emperor Akihito and his
wife, Empress Michiko, at the Imperial Palace.

As part of the pageantry, Trump and Abe took part in a traditional feeding
of koi in a pond Monday. At first, both leaders spooned out small amounts
of feed into the pond below. Abe then lightly tossed the remainder of his
box into the pond below, while Trump more theatrically dumped the rest of
his box down to the fish.

Abe laughed.

### - (playing golf...) nice fish-pond ya gots there buddy; btw, how's
about buying some of our new tech eh? everyone's buyin' 'em! AND (takes
his swing...) they come with a built-in guarantee of success just to
sweeten the deal; that when those pesky NK's dare fire anything over your
heads again, you shoot 'em down with OUR gear, and IF they even DARE
retaliate in ANY way whatsoever we'll blast the livin' sushi right out of
'em for sure! fire, fury, the whole damn works! guaranteed! so they wont
get away with it even if they do! deal?

yeah? okaaay... so's how's around about 150 billion bucks-worth grab ya's?

cool!

FORE! :)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)