CHINA/DEFENSE/NORTH KOREA/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Wednesday [8-29-18] tried to make China the scapegoat for his stalled diplomacy with North Korea, accusing it of undermining the American-led pressure campaign against Pyongyang because of an escalating trade dispute with the United States. In a series of late-afternoon tweets, issued under the headline ‘Statement From the White House,’ Mr. Trump said China was shipping ‘money, fuel, fertilizer and various other commodities’ to North Korea…Even as he was criticizing China, Mr. Trump reaffirmed his decision in June to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, saying they were costly and unnecessary, given his warm relationship with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. While it was difficult to decipher the strategy behind the tweets, the president appeared in part to be trying to dial back remarks made by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who opened the door on Tuesday to resuming the exercises. A Defense Department official said news reports that interpreted Mr. Mattis’s remarks as contradictory to the president’s angered the White House. On Wednesday, Mr. Mattis issued a statement seeking to clarify his initial remarks, but both that and Mr. Trump’s tweets caused just as much confusion, since Mr. Trump pointed out that he could restart the military exercises whenever he wanted.”
–Mark Landler, “Trump Accuses China of Undermining Diplomacy With North Korea,” The New York Times online, August 29, 2018