U.S.-China Summit

[Anchor Lead]

Thursday marks the beginning of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in the United States. The U.S. President has pressured China in recent days on the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, creating some tension in the air.

[Pkg]

At a joint news conference with the king of Jordan king following a bilateral summit on April 5 local time, U.S. President Donald Trump brought up the issue of North Korea yet again. Trump said that he would soon be meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida, and that tackling North Korea was his "responsibility."

[Soundbite] Donald Trump(U.S. President)

The U.S. president pointed out that his responsibility would have been lighter if the North Korean issue had been addressed years earlier. His remarks are construed to mean that the issue has become more serious because the Obama administration did not sufficiently address it. In an interview with The Financial Times on April 2, President Trump said that if Beijing is not going to solve the North Korean nuclear issue, the United States will. At a meeting with corporate CEOs on April 5, Trump said that North Korea is a "humanity problem," openly insinuating at his intent to discuss the matter as a top issue in his upcoming summit with the Chinese leader. The U.S. president had already spoken about the need to strike North Korea's nuclear facilities in his book that was published in 2000. The upcoming summit between the American and Chinese presidents will inevitably draw significant attention, as Washington diplomats believe that Trump is eager to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue as soon as possible.