Jeremy Corbyn calls on Theresa May to rule out military action in North Korea
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has said the Government “must not drag” Britain into taking military action against North Korea, at a time when tensions between the state and the US are ramping up.
The Labour leader’s warning comes after he called on Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un to hold direct talks “in the interest of sanity”.
Earlier this week Donald Trump vowed that Washington would respond to further threats with "fire and fury”, while Pyongyang has accused the US president of "driving" the Korean peninsula to the "brink of a nuclear war".
Mr Corbyn said, while the UK should play a role with other nuclear-armed countries to mediate the impasse between the countries, the Government not to offer “blind loyalty” to the Trump administration.
“Our government must not drag our country into any military action over the Korea crisis, including joint exercises,” he wrote in the Sunday Mirror.
“There can be no question of blind loyalty to the erratic and belligerent Trump administration.
“US-led regime-change wars and the threat of more to come have made this crisis more dangerous and difficult to resolve.
“A Labour government would be committed to achieving a nuclear-free world, as are all signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
The intervention comes days after the Labour leader, a long-term opponent and campaigner against nuclear weapons, highlighted the threat to civilians that such weapons pose.
"I ask them both [Trump and Kim] – calm down. There are phone-calls that could be made, discussions that could be held,” he said.
He added: "We cannot play fast and loose with nuclear weapons and nuclear threats because do you know what - a nuclear explosion doesn't stop at national borders, it doesn't stop at the vicinity where the bomb drops."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
