As news continues to spread about hundreds of North Korean workers killed at the regime’s nuclear test site, President Trump is gearing up for his upcoming tour of Asia, for which he’ll depart on Friday. The president is scheduled to spend only one day in South Korea while Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines will all receive two days apiece, and China will see Trump as well. Now, the White House has stated that Trump won’t pay a customary visit to the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea.
The area is considered standard fare for foreign officials who visit the Korean peninsula, but an unnamed White House official says the visit isn’t necessary, since Mike Pence visited the area in April, and Gen. Mattis and Rex Tillerson have all gone as well. Maybe this is all becoming a little “cliché”? Yep, that’s the word that the official used:
“We just had Secretary Mattis there last week, we had Vice President Pence there earlier this year. Secretary Tillerson was there. It’s becoming a little bit of a cliché, frankly.”
This sounds like something that Sarah Huckabee Sanders would say, but no one has yet owned the statement. There has, however, been an addendum about Trump not having enough time in his schedule for a DMZ pit stop. In addition, CNN adds that Trump opted instead to visit Camp Humphreys, the joint U.S.-South Korean military base, which he feels “make[s] more sense in terms of the President’s message” of stressing the U.S. alliance with South Korea. Yet CNN noted last week that the White House stressed that Trump’s decision to visit Camp Humphreys “[doesn’t] sends any message either way.”
So many messages! Let’s just hope that there aren’t any “fire and fury” speeches to be found during this tour of Asia, for North Korea’s nuclear threats may only worsen with Trump in close proximity.