life-saving aid to certain victims of the shooter. i will continue to follow the developments closely. all of america is praying to god to help the wounded and the families of the victims. leave theirr, ever side. ever. announcer: now here is more on president trump's visit to asia from washington journal. this is about 15 minutes. joining us now is abraham denmark, the director of the asia program at the wilson center. he is here to discuss the goals and significance of president trump's trip to asia. thank you for joining us. briefly explain what the wilson center is. is a: the wilson center congressionally created think tank. we were created in the 1960's as a memorial to president wilson.

we are a public institution focused on research on international affairs. asia-pacific, which goes all the way from afghanistan to hawaii. it's a broad -- host: a big region. what is the significance of this trip to asia for president trump? guest: it is a very significant trip. the stakes are very high. there are many important issues in the region. he will be addressing a lot of them. it is also a long trip. the white house is saying is the longest trip by a president to asia in 25 years. he will be traveling to five different countries. south korea, japan, china, vietnam and the philippines. and addressing a wide variety of different issues. the main ones being north korea and international trade with the broader overly of what many see as a general competition between the u.s. and china on who will

be leading the region in the future. host: the wall street journal today as the headline, "north korea to dominate the agenda." president trump's anticipated trip starts on saturday. pyongyang's desire to be considered a global nuclear power. the rest of the developed world attempt to undermine been envisioned will be the theme of every bilateral. meeting -- bilateral meeting. guest: it will be on top of the agenda for every meeting, especially for the first few meetings in tokyo and beijing. the other key actors in this drama. we have seen in recent years north korea conducting more and more nuclear tests, ballistic missile tests, and the pace has accelerated which is pushed this to the top of the agenda. host: talk about that.

what are the potential risks of the president and going over there? we know he is not planning to go to the demilitarized zone. are the risks about what might happen in north korea does another test while the president is over there? what is the potential pitfall? guest: to answer your question, there is always a risk of north korean provocations. the motto of u.s. forces in korea is fight tonight because of that ever present risk. the primary that falls the president is facing are mostly political. while in tokyo he and the japanese prime minister abe are very much on the same page with these issues, there has been a lot of disagreement behind the scenes between president trump and south korean president moon, who initially saw to engage north korea and seems to prefer a much more engagement oriented approach to north korea,

different than president trump's more hard-line approach. although president moon has endorsed president trump's pressure strategy. and then and beijing there is seeking to restrain american action as concern about american use of military force. there is a lot of concern and pitfalls for the president when he talks about north korea. host: we are talking with abraham denmark, director of the asia program at the wilson center. we are discussing the president's trip to asia, which he left for yesterday. democrats can call (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, -- (202) 748-8002. you mentioned the south korean president. paper -- the new york times, it talks a bit about that.

it says he won the presidency promising a shift towards dialogue with north korea. he argues sanctions and pressure alone would never persuade north korea. no to the to say americans if necessary. six months after south korea's -- return the nation's liberals to power, his plans to ease tensions on the peninsula have gone nowhere. president trump is doubled down on sanctions in the standoff with the north. he dismissed talk to the waste of time and stepped up military drills that rattled the region with five ignatius threats. talk more about the role of south korea. how do you expect that the play out over this trip? guest: south korea is a very important ally. it hosts 28,500 american service people. it is a treaty ally of the united states.

president moon -- i thought it was a good article. he came to power just a few months ago seeking more engagement with north korea. unfortunately for him, president trump was more oriented toward a more hard-line approach. at the same time north korea has not been terribly interested in engagement with the south. they are seeking engagement with the united states. there is a difficult position for president moon to be in. theas emphasized despite theological differences he and president trump are on the same page or committed to maximizing pressure for now on north korea. there is certainly a wide gulf. president trump has criticized president moon publicly on twitter for his approach. president moon has expressed a lot of concern about unilateral american military action. states saying the united

should coordinate and consult with south korea before launching any sort of military attack against north korea. that is right now one of the main concerns in south korea, that the united states would either intentionally or unintentionally begin a conflict without consulting with south korea first. host: landed on the republican line from williamsburg, virginia. good morning. caller: i'm glad to be able to speak to mr. denmark. is how does south korea feel -- host: can you meet your tv -- mute your tv? caller: yes. good morning. host: you are on live now. caller: how does south korea -- yes.ut the threat how does south korea feel about the possibility of japan

militarizing? host: talk a little bit about japan and how it plays in well linda deals with your tv. guest: japan, as you probably know, had a very difficult history with korea before and during the second world war, with a lot of terrible human rights abuses. korea has the years thought to address and overcome. most recently between japanese prime minister abe and south korean president parpk. -- park. those historical concerns and animosity remain strong and certain parts of the south korean public. yet if you look at public polling, japan pulls quite well in south korea. in south korea, the public is a better perception of japan then

it doesn't china recently -- then it does of china recently. there is concerned with some revising itsjapan constitution and expanding military power, which is one of the objectives of prime minister abe. it is not a broad and widely held view in south korea, rather the view of a certain part. generally there has been efforts more recently to enhance will be called trilateral military cooperation between the united states, south korea and japan. es couldtari cooperate against a potential north korean threat. previously deputy assistant secretary of defense for east asia during the obama administration. we are talking about the president's trip to asia where he is en route right now. a very big trip, his first major trip to the region. democrats, (202) 748-8000.

republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we remind you all you are waiting on the line to listen through your phone and mute your television. reporterster briefing about what to expect from this trip and touching on whether the president's fire and fury rhetoric still stands. [video] reporter: will he be meeting putin on the sidelines and will he be bringing up human rights? h.r. mcmaster: the president will use whatever length which he wants to use. what the president has done is clarify and all of his -- in all of this statements on north korea our determination to ensure north korea is unable to threaten our allies and partners and certainly the united states.

he has done that with a great deal of clarity in the past and i'm sure he will do that during the trip as well. a great been reassurance to our allies and partners and others in the region who are literally under the gun of this regime. reporter: do you expect modulation in the language? h.r. mcmaster: i don't think the president modulates his language. have you noticed him do that? he has been very clear about it. i have been aware of the discussions about his -- what is inflammatory is the north korean regime and what they are doing to threaten the world. would be a great danger if the regime did not understand our resolve, the president's resolve to counter north korean aggression. and the president has made it very clear. host: what is your reaction? guest: i think they are speaking about the president's remarks in south korea.

he will be addressing the south korean legislature, the national assembly. it's really an opportunity to explain and clarify the administration's approach towards north korea. i think general mcmaster is right. north korean actions and statements have been very inflammatory and problematic. the president is in a difficult position when it comes to north korea. this is not a crisis of his making. this has been a building crisis for decades. especially for president trump, it is coming due during his administration. north koreans are closer to developing a nuclear capable icbm. it has been the policy of several administrations the u.s. without accepting north korea capable of striking the united states with nuclear weapons. ont i disagree with mcmaster is that the president's administration has been clear in its approach to north korea.

if you look at statements for the president and other senior officials, there have been various endorsements of diplomacy, criticisms of diplomacy, saying the united states seeks regime change in that it does not seek regime change. when he speaks with the national assembly, is a key opportunity for him to clarify his position and make the case for time running out and 10:00 eastern. and check out our free c-span radio app. we are here with sebastian gorka, warmer senior adviser to trump. what is the message? guest: the message is that we can defeat groups like al qaeda.