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A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 26 OcTOber 2017

China: North Korea urges

Xi unveils new leaders but no obvious successor UN to discuss US
exercise as threat

By GILLIAN WONG leader in decades. poverty in China,” Xi, Xi as party leader after his By EDITH M. LEDERER
CHRIS BODEEN As expected, Xi was given China’s president, said in second five-year term. Associated Press
Associated Press a renewed mandate comments to reporters at The absence of an obvious UNITED NATIONS (AP) —
BEIJING (AP) — China’s following the first meeting a brief ceremony at the successor pointed to Xi’s North Korea’s ambassador
ruling Communist Party Wednesday of the new Great Hall of the People. longer-term ambitions, called on the U.N. Security
on Wednesday elevated Central Committee that Five members of the new said Joseph Fewsmith, an Council Wednesday to ur-
five new officials to assist was elected at the party’s seven-strong Politburo expert on Chinese politics gently discuss the recent
President Xi Jinping as he twice-a-decade national Standing Committee at Boston University. U.S. joint naval exercise
embarks on a second five- congress. introduced by Xi were newly “It suggests that Xi will likely near the Korean penin-
year term, and by stopping “We will mobilize the appointed Wednesday. serve a third term, and that sula, calling it preparation
short of designating whole party and the Going by the party’s norms he is likely to name his own for a pre-emptive strike
an obvious successor whole country in a resolute on retirement ages, none of successor,” Fewsmith said. and nuclear war against
strengthened his position as push to deliver on our them are deemed suitable “We have not seen that for his country. Ja Song Nam
the country’s most powerful pledge and eradicate to succeed the 64-year-old two decades.” q said in a letter, a copy of
which was sent to The As-
Questions loom as Mattis visits South Korea sociated Press, that the na-
val exercise was the larg-
est “waged with general
By ROBERT BURNS mobilization of the nuclear
Associated Press strategic assets” after U.S.
BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. De- President Donald Trump
fense Secretary Jim Mattis last month “made the most
is visiting the Korean Penin- ferocious declaration of
sula at a momentous junc- war in history by claiming to
ture in the faltering effort ‘totally destroy’ the DPRK.”
to persuade Pyongyang Those are the initials of the
to halt and dismantle its country’s official name,
nuclear weapons program. the Democratic People’s
Ominous questions hang in Republic of Korea.
the air. Ja said the naval exercise,
Is diplomacy failing? Is war which began Oct. 16 and
approaching? involved the nuclear air-
Mattis’ second trip as Pen- craft carrier Ronald Rea-
tagon boss to Seoul will gan, three nuclear subma-
take place Friday, follow- rines, Aegis destroyers and
ing his consultations with more than 40 other battle-
Asian partners on a unified ships and fighter aircraft
approach to resolve the “of all kinds,” increased
North Korea crisis. tensions on the Korean
In the Philippines, his Japa- peninsula.
nese counterpart spoke The five-day naval drills
darkly of an “unprecedent- U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrives to take part in the two-day ASEAN Defense Ministers’ with the South Korean navy
ed, critical and imminent” Meeting and its Dialogue Partners Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017 at Clark, Pampanga province, north of came ahead of Trump’s
threat posed by the North’s Manila, Philippines. first official visit to Asia next
repeated demonstrations (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) month, which is likely to
of its ability to launch an day on a flight to Thailand. with North Korea.” Korea are still technically at be overshadowed by ten-
intercontinental-range mis- From there, he is traveling “Recent months have war. Trump has mocked sions with North Korea over
sile, potentially armed with on to South Korea. shown a worsening of the North Korean leader Kim its escalating nuclear and
a nuclear warhead. Twice, But there are increasing relationship between the Jong Un as “Little Rocket ballistic missile programs.
in August and Septem- suggestions of possible mili- U.S. and North Korea that Man” and threatened to The U.S. and South Korea
ber, North Korean missiles tary confrontation. Trump’s is very troubling to me,” he unleash “fire and fury” on regularly conduct joint mili-
overflew Japan’s northern national security adviser, said in an interview. “I’m Pyongyang if its leaders do tary exercises that Pyong-
Hokkaido island, triggering Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, concerned about the pres- not abandon their nuclear yang condemns as inva-
alarms and warnings for said last week, “We are in ident’s upcoming trip to weapons. Kim seems un- sion rehearsals.
citizens to take cover. a race to resolve this short Asia where the North Kore- daunted by threats and “What cannot be over-
As North Korea’s capa- of military action,” add- ans could use this as an op- unresponsive to diplomatic looked,” the DPRK’s Ja
bilities rush toward putting ing, “We are running out of portunity to conduct some overtures. said, “is the fact that the
the U.S. mainland in range, time.” Michael Swaine, a additional test.” In Seoul, Mattis will attend U.S., not being contented
Mattis has stuck to the longtime Asia specialist at President Donald Trump annual meetings Saturday with the joint military exer-
American diplomacy and the Carnegie Endowment will visit South Korea next with senior South Korean cise on the Korean penin-
pressure campaign led by for International Peace, month. Aides say he will government officials and sula, is kicking up the rack-
Secretary of State Rex Tiller- said that while he is hopeful not travel to the Demilita- assess plans for countering et of military pressure upon
son. The goal is to compel of averting conflict, “I don’t rized Zone, the internation- the North’s threats. He’ll the DPRK on a worldwide
the North to a complete see any clear signs that ally recognized buffer zone also reaffirm America’s scale and is becoming
and irreversible removal of there is progress in either that has separated the two promise to defend the more undisguised in its at-
its nuclear arsenal. coercing the North Koreans Koreas since the Korean South against any attack, tempt to introduce NATO
“Everyone is out for a into starting to talk about War. The fighting ended in and possibly discuss the and other armed forces
peaceful resolution. No denuclearization or finding 1953 with an armistice, not outlook for giving the South of its followers into the Ko-
one’s rushing for war,” Mat- some other path toward a peace treaty, meaning wartime operational con- rean peninsula in case of
tis told reporters Wednes- some kind of engagement the United States and North trol of its own forces. q emergency.”q