Former US President Barack Obama, who is on a visit to Japan, has called North Korea “a real threat,” suggesting that the US has little leverage over the resolute nation.
“North Korea is an example of a country that is so far out of the international norms and so disconnected with the rest of the world,” Obama said in Tokyo on Sunday. “That makes them less subject to these kinds of negotiations.”
He made the comments at an event sponsored by a Japanese nonprofit group during an Asia-Pacific trip that included earlier stops in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.
“North Korea is a real threat,” said the former president. “Our view has always been that we would prefer to resolve these issues peacefully,” otherwise, “the cost in terms of human life would be significant.”
This is while Obama’s predecessor, US President Donald Trump, has been trying to negotiate with North Korea in an effort to denuclearize the…