Trump denounces China's trade with North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trumpdenounced China's trade with North Korea on Wednesday and castdoubt on whether Beijing is working with Washington to counterthe North Korean nuclear threat.

"Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40 pct inthe first quarter. So much for China working with us but wehad to give it a try!" Trump said in a Twitter post.

Even before Pyongyang said on Tuesday it successfullytest-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, Trump hasrecently suggested he was running out of patience with China'smodest steps to pressure North Korea and has been consideringmoving ahead on trade actions.

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Analysts said the latest missile could put all of the U.S.state of Alaska in range for the first time. The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the situation.

Trump posted the tweet shortly before leaving for Warsaw onhis way to a G20 summit in Germany on Friday and Saturday.

During that summit, he will meet for the second time withChinese President Xi Jinping, with whom he has expressedfrustration for failing to use enough leverage to curb NorthKorea's nuclear program.

China is North Korea's largest trading partner and ally.

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Data released in April by Beijing showed China's trade withNorth Korea grew 37.4 per cent in the first quarter this yearfrom the same period in 2016, according to reports in the NewYork Times and Financial Times. Chinese exports surged 54.5per cent and imports increased 18.4 per cent, according to theGeneral Administration of Customs.

Trump departed on Wednesday for Warsaw, Poland, where theWhite House said he would showcase his commitment to the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in a speech and in meetings with agroup of nations closest to Russia on his way to the G20 summitin Germany, which is set for Friday and Saturday.

"He will lay out a vision not only for America's futurerelationship with Europe, but the future of our trans-Atlanticalliance, and what that means for American security and Americanprosperity," Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster,told reporters last week.

Aside from shoring up the U.S. relationship with NATO allies, the speech is symbolically significant given Poland's proximity to Russia and regional fears about Moscow's ambitions following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.