Obama discusses North Korea with Asian leaders

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON

North Korea’s recent nuclear activities marked President Barack Obama’s meeting Thursday with Asian leaders on the sidelines of a nuclear Summit.

Obama, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a trilateral meeting and came together with Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day.

The American leader told reporters that he and his Japanese and Korean counterparts have agreed to work together for “deterring the North Korean nuclear threat and the potential of nuclear proliferation as a consequence of North Korean activities."

Obama said his Chinese counterpart pledged to help efforts to discourage Pyongyang from nuclear and intercontinental missile tests, according to a White House statement.

“President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Obama said.

The U.S. has long called for China -- North Korea's traditional ally -- to push President Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear program.

According to the White House, the two leaders also pledged to work together to deal with cybersecurity threats, human rights issues and the tensions in South China Sea.

The meeting comes amid North Korea’s claim that it is preparing to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the U.S.

In recent months Pyonhyang has tested several missiles as well as an alleged hydrogen bomb that triggered UN sanctions against the North Korean government and several officials.

The hydrojen bomb test led Washington and Seul to discuss stationing advanced missile defense systems called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) on South Korean soil.

The move forced harsh criticism by the Chinese administration as Beijing believes the THAAD system would also be used to monitor Chinese missile deployments.