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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2017)
NATION/WORLD Saturday, April 15, 2017 East Oregonian Page 9A N. Korean official: Ready for war if Trump wants it PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump’s tweets are adding fuel to a “vicious cycle” of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea’s vice foreign minister told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Friday. The official added that if the U.S. shows any sign of “reckless” military aggression, Pyongyang is ready to launch a pre-emptive strike of its own. Vice Minister Han Song Ryol said Pyongyang has determined the Trump admin- istration is “more vicious and more aggressive” than that of Barack Obama. He added that North Korea will keep building up its nuclear arsenal in “quality and quantity” and said Pyongyang is ready to go to war if that’s what Trump KRT via AP In this image made from video broadcast by North Kore- an broadcaster KRT, soldiers take part in a parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Saturday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a massive parade in the capital, Pyongyang, celebrating the birthday of his late grandfather and North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. wants. Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington go back to President Harry Truman and the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. But the heat has been rising rapidly since Trump took office in January. This year’s joint war games between the U.S. and South Korean militaries are the biggest so far. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier has been diverted back to the waters off Korea after heading for Australia, and U.S. satellite imagery suggests the North could conduct another underground nuclear test at any time. Pyongyang recently tested a ballistic missile and claims it is close to perfecting an intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear warhead that could attack the U.S. mainland. Many experts believe that at its current pace of testing, North Korea could reach that potentially game- changing milestone within a few years — under Trump’s watch as president. Despite reports that Washington is considering military action if the North goes ahead with another nuclear test, Han did not rule out the possibility of a test in the near future. “That is something that our headquarters decides,” he said during the 40-minute interview in Pyongyang, which is now gearing up for a major holiday — and possibly a big military parade — on Saturday. “At a time and at a place where the headquarters deems necessary, it will take place.” The North conducted two such tests last year alone. The first was of what it claims to have been a hydrogen bomb and the second was its most powerful ever. Expectations are high the North may put its newest missiles on display during Saturday’s parade. The annual U.S.-South Korea military exercises have consistently infuriated the North, which views them as rehearsals for an invasion. Washington and Seoul deny that, but reports that exercises have included “decapitation strikes” aimed at the North’s leadership have fanned Pyongyang’s anger. Han said Trump’s tweets have also added fuel to the flames. Trump posted a tweet Tuesday in which he said the North is “looking for trouble” and reiterated his call for more pressure from Beijing, North Korea’s economic lifeline, to clamp down on trade and strengthen its enforcement of U.N. sanctions to persuade Pyongyang to denuclearize. Cutting Trump slack: Voters forgive reversals — to a point Associated Press WASHINGTON — What’s wrong with being flexible? All presidents change their minds. He’s only human. President Donald Trump’s voters can be a forgiving lot — up to a point. “He thinks too fast and then makes decisions too fast,” says Miriam Naranjo in Miami Lakes, Florida. “He’s changing his mind on almost every- thing he said,” says Bob Brown, of South Windsor, Connecticut. Naranjo is willing to give Trump more time. Brown is not. The president’s recent shifts in position on big foreign policy issues have got his supporters pondering: Are the reversals worth a mere shrug of the shoulders, or are they a cause for greater concern. Where critics see a flip-flopper, many Trump voters see the kind of recalibrating that’s to be expected from any new president, even more so for the first in history to land in the Oval Office without any government or military experience. “It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on and making sure he doesn’t stray too far from where he campaigned,” says Christian Ziegler, a marketing professional from Sara- sota, Florida, who served as one of Trump’s electors in the state. “I’m not concerned yet.” In recent weeks, the president has gone from labeling NATO “obsolete” to “no longer obsolete.” He’s ordered a cruise missile bombardment in Syria after saying during the campaign that the U.S. should steer clear of the place. He’s decided the Export-Import Bank, which he once opposed, is a good thing after all. And he’s done a U-turn on his pledge to label China a currency manipulator. Many of those issues were prominent applause lines at candidate Trump’s campaign rallies. Now, as he shifts positions, Trump says he’s being flexible — and proud of it. For plenty of Trump voters, that’s fine, particularly when a situation suddenly arises like the chemical weapons attack in Syria that killed more than 80 people and prompted Trump to order airstrikes. “Once someone releases nerve gas on chil- dren, you have to do something,” says Susan Holly, of Cheyenne, Wyoming. BRIEFLY Trump admin. declines to brand China a currency manipulator WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration declined Friday to label China a currency manipulator despite President Donald Trump’s insistent pledge during the election campaign that he would do so as soon as he took office. Instead, the administration’s first twice-yearly currency review singled out China and five other countries as needing to be monitored for their currency practices. The countries — China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland — were the same six named in the last currency report issued by the Obama administration in October. In its report to Congress, the Treasury Department noted that Beijing had intervened in currency markets for about a decade to depress the value of its currency, the renminbi. Keeping the renminbi low gave its exporters a competitive edge by making Chinese goods more affordable overseas and other nations’ products costlier for Chinese buyers. But reflecting the views of most economists, Treasury concluded that China has recently been intervening to do the opposite — to keep the renminbi from falling against the dollar. AP Photos TOP LEFT: Dennis O’Flaherty is seen in Sacramento, Calif. TOP RIGHT: William “Drew” Cato is seen in Anchorage, Alaska. BOTTOM LEFT: Christian Ziegler, 33, a marketing professional from Sarasota, Fla. and BOTTOM RIGHT: Miriam Naranjo, a 70-year Cuban woman who now lives in Miami Lakes. President Donald Trump’s voters are showing they can be a forgiving lot, up to a point. “Nobody can stand around and be black and white,” she said. “Everybody makes changes.” Some prominent conservatives haven’t hesitated to criticize Trump’s recent actions. Columnist Ann Coulter, writing for Breitbart News, the website once run by White House adviser Steve Bannon, called the president’s Syrian airstrikes an immoral “misadventure” that “violates every promise he ran on and could sink his presidency.” However, nearly three months into Trump’s presidency, many supporters say they never really expected him to hew to all his campaign positions anyway. Trump, a former Democrat, was never one to attract the labels of policy wonk or ideologue. “I don’t think any president really knows what they’re doing the first few months in office,” says Jeff Baumgardner, 59, an airline captain from Shindle, Pennsylvania. “What they say on a campaign is always different than what they do.” Sure, Trump needs to deliver on some of his promises, says Baumgardner, “but some of them are just election banter.” Husband and wife Larry and Eleanor Sacilowski, from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, don’t see Trump’s policy shifts as a problem. “It makes him human,” says Eleanor, 70, a receptionist. “You never stop learning,” adds Larry, 74, an auto parts deliveryman. For Ziegler, 33, a Republican state commit- teeman in Florida, Trump’s shifts are a sign he’s getting “different information” now that he’s president. As long as Trump holds firm on Ziegler’s top priorities — opposing abortion and refusing to grant amnesty to immigrants living in the country illegally — Ziegler says he’s OK with other policy changes. “Let’s remember Donald Trump’s a dealmaker, and when you’re negotiating in business you don’t always get 100 percent of what you want,” says Ziegler. Naranjo, a Cuban-born Trump voter, thinks the president’s performance has been lackluster but there’s still time for him to turn things around. “We’re expecting too much too fast,” says Naranjo, 70. To a number of Trump voters, as long as the president delivers on his repeal-and-replace pledge for the health care law — far from a sure thing — other issues are secondary. Trump’s campaign promises to dial back U.S. engagement overseas and put “America First” may have roused crowds, but it’s the issues with direct impact on their lives that could drive them away. William “Drew” Cato, 57, of Anchorage, Alaska, says he voted for Trump even though he credits the health care law enacted under former President Barack Obama with saving his life by helping him get drug addiction and mental health treatment. If Trump guts the health law and doesn’t provide a replacement, say Cato, “I would just have to scratch my head and go, ‘That’s a promise. That was an all-out lie.’” In Sacramento, 58-year-old Dennis O’Fla- herty, who works in landscaping, is worried about Trump’s departures from his campaign positions. But he’s not sure what to make of it. “Maybe he was not aware of exactly what was going on,” says O’Flaherty, who had just finished making a pot of split-pea soup as a volunteer at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post. “You don’t want to think that he misled people intentionally, but I guess that’s a possi- bility. ... It’s concerning.” In Connecticut, Brown, a 65-year-old retired municipal worker, isn’t giving Trump the benefit of the doubt anymore. “He’s so erratic, that’s what disappoints me the most,” says Brown, just after watching a minor league baseball game in Hartford. “All these years, everyone’s had the notion that Donald Trump was a smart guy. And to me, he really isn’t. He may know the art of the deal ... but as far as global knowledge. ...” Brown finishes the thought with a shake of his head and a rueful laugh. Easter Celebration Services Easter Sunrise Service Come worship with us in the Blue Mountains on Easter Morning! Enjoy a wonderful complimentary breakfast buffet after the service. Sunday • April 16, 2017 • 7 AM At the Historic Meacham Hotel in Meacham, Oregon Music will be provided by Lon Thornburg Speaker will be Pastor Wayne Pickens Service organized by Blue Mountain Christian Cowboys For questions please call (541) 276-8540 or (541) 969-2677 Peter Rabbit Breakfast S t A il 15 h th Sat. April 15th th 7:30 - 10:30 AM $5.00 for Breakfast 5 & under FREE Face painting, Easter egg hunt, Crafts, & Peter Rabbit First UnitedÊMethodist Church iÀÊ ÃÌ]Ê",ÊÊ££Ê°Ê>`ÞÃÊÛi°]Ê Easter Day, April 16th Sunrise Worship at the Cross on the Butte: 6:30 AM Church Worship Services: 10:30 AM Journey to new life! Palm to Passion Sunday April 9 at 10am Maundy Thursday Supper & Tenebrae April 13 at 6pm Easter Celebration with Brass April 16 at 10am Holy Humor Sunday April 23 at 10am First Presbyterian Church PC(USA) 201 SW Dorion • 541-276-7681 www.pendletonpresbyterian.com Listen on KUMA 1290 at 10am Sundays
