(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte revealed on Thursday that they were “getting the help of everybody” in addressing the heightening tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
Duterte said in his speech during the Orthopedic Association Convention on Thursday that he called Chinese President Xi Jinping upon the request of United States President Donald Trump for something to be done about the North Korean leader “situation.”
Kim Jong Un has been conducting nuclear missile tests that have irked Washington, which has also put into operation a missile shield in South Korea.
The move has irked both Pyongyang and Beijing.
Tensions have so heightened Trump has raised prospects of unilateral military strikes on North Korea, noting that there would be consequences if China would not intervene.
But on May 1, Trump said he would not rule out meeting Kim, saying he would be “honored to do it.”
“So I called (Xi),” Duterte said.
The Philippine president said he was “not at liberty” to talk about what was discussed.
“President Trump has not called me yet, but if he calls me (to ask how it went), what transpired, I’ll tell him. Definitely we are getting the help of everybody,” Duterte said.
He noted that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Trump had agreed that Xi could “do something.”
“Actually, the biggest contribution of all others is (Xi’s) intervention,” he said.