News / Germany

Merkel: Germany won't necessarily take US side in potential Korea war

Wednesday, 23 August 2017 4:09 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 23 August 2017 4:10 PM ]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (AFP photo)

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has warned the United States that Berlin would not necessarily take the side of Washington in a potential war against North Korea, saying the two sides of the conflict on the Korean Peninsula had better seek a diplomatic solution and avoid direct military confrontation.

If a military conflict erupts between the United States and North Korea, Merkel said on Wednesday, Germany would not automatically take the side of Washington. Berlin and other members of the European Union are in favor of a peaceful solution, she added.

Merkel said resorting to military action to overcome the standoff between the United States and North Korea was absolutely wrong. She urged the international community to do more to resolve the crisis.

“We should do more ... We cannot simply insist on a diplomatic solution while we sit and do nothing,” she said at an event organized by the Handelsblatt business daily.

Much to the dismay of Washington and its allies in Asia, North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) last month to show its military capability to target the mainland United States. Washington responded by engineering some tough international sanctions on Pyongyang. The tit-for-tat reactions then continued earlier this month, when US President Donald Trump threatened the North with “fire and fury” the world had never seen and Pyongyang said it had plans for firing four missiles, less-sophisticated than the ICBM, to waters near the US Pacific island of Guam.

The United States and South Korea are now in the middle of a massive military exercise, which the North has designated as “reckless behavior,” which could further complicate the situation and drive it into an "uncontrollable phase of nuclear war."