Diplomacy is the key to solving the North Korea problem, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says.
Merkel believes an agreement with North Korea that's similar to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Germany helped orchestrate, could be the answer for convincing North Korea leader Kim Jong Un to disarm, Bloomberg News reported.
“We must now develop similar activities with an eye on North Korea,” Merkel said. North Korea's recent missile tests should “spur us further to move forward with disarmament efforts.”
Merkel’s comments came Saturday during her weekly podcast. She asserted that her stance on North Korea aligns with that of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
President Donald Trump, however, believes that “talking is not the answer.”
"The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!" Trump tweeted just one day after Pyongyang launched a missile over Japan.
Mattis struck a different tone on Twitter, writing that “we’re never out of diplomatic solutions.”