Katherine Biek
US Defense Secretary At DMZ: 'Our Goal Is Not War' With North Korea
At the Demilitarized Zone on Friday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. is still committed to resolving tensions with North Korea peacefully.
LEARN MOREPosted: 11:30 a.m. EDT Nov 3, 2017
On Friday, President Donald Trump departed for his longest presidential trip to date: a 10-day tour of Asia, with a stop in Hawaii on the way.
While in the 50th state, Trump's set to visit the USS Arizona Memorial, which marks the resting place of a ship that sank in Pearl Harbor during World War II. He's also going to be briefed by the military's U.S. Pacific Command.
On Sunday, Trump officially starts the Asia part of his tour — beginning with Japan. He and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are sure to talk about North Korea. In late October, Abe promised to "dramatically show countermeasures" against his country's Asian neighbor.
After Japan, it's on to South Korea. Trump's scheduled to speak to the country's National Assembly and visit the newly expanded Camp Humphreys military base.
One thing Trump won't be doing in South Korea — visiting the Demilitarized Zone between it and North Korea. This is somewhat breaking with tradition, since Trump's last three predecessors all visited the DMZ while in office.
After South Korea, Trump heads to China. Besides talking trade, Trump's expected to urge President Xi Jinping to do even more to stop North Korea's nuclear program. Recently, China's central bank ordered all other banks in China to stop doing business with North Korea.
While in Vietnam, Trump's expected to attend a summit for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which counts 21 countries as members. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also scheduled to attend, but it's not yet known if the two will meet while there.
Trump's last stop will be the Philippines on Nov. 12. Besides meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte — who's been accused of human rights abuses — Trump will attend multiple events for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
