Trump Warns That ‘Major, Major Conflict’ With North Korea Is Possible -<br />By GERRY MULLANYAPRIL 27, 2017<br />HONG KONG — President Trump warned Thursday of the possibility of a “major, major conflict” with North Korea, in an interview in which he said he was seeking a diplomatic solution to concerns<br />that Pyongyang was preparing to conduct another nuclear test.<br />In the interview with Reuters, Mr. Trump praised President Xi Jinping of China for his efforts to resolve the dispute over North Korea’s missile<br />and nuclear weapons programs, but he cautioned that diplomatic efforts might fail.<br />Mr. Trump said in the interview that he would seek to have South Korea pay for the system, known<br />as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad, putting its cost around $1 billion.<br />Mr. Trump also said that because of the United States’ sizable trade deficit with<br />South Korea, he intended to renegotiate or end a trade pact with the country.<br />“We must consider whether it conforms to the spirit of the alliance,” the spokesman, Youn Kwan-suk, said on Friday, accusing Mr. Trump of “demanding unilaterally and without close bilateral consultations<br />that South Korea pay the cost” of the missile defense system.
