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Air to south korea to send a message to the north and to reassure our allies in the south. doug mckelway joins us with more on this multipronged u.s. response. doug, in so many ways it seems like the chinese are in the middle, and if you listen to president trump, as the mediator. >> reporter: yeah, so what to make of that, that's really the million dollar question, leland, and it's significant because china has tremendous economic and military leverage over kim jong un in north korea. here's what they said earlier in a statement today: >> reporter: but recall that earlier this week china took...

Nuclear test. the trump administration weighs its options on how to de-escalate the situation. they are following this from washington. doug, let's start here. china appears to be playing a bit of a mediator role. what should we make of this. >> that's the million-dollar question and it's significant because china has economic and military leverage over north korea. they are engaging in tit-for-tat with swords drawn and bows bent. we encourage everyone. [inaudible] china took the unusual step of abstaining from about. they almost always go with russia.

Have used their newspaper that goes into north korea to basically warn the north koreans not to do it. that trump is serious. that was interesting. >> one other factor to consider, we have so many troops in south korea, so the north koreans have lots of troops too. if we do something there short of taking out the leader, it could be that they then rush in. that's a whole different dynamic. >> that's part of the complexity of the situation. when you say president trump doesn't know what to do with north korea, i think he does know what to do with north korea and he is doing it. a multifaceted a...

You know that, right? as far as settlements, i would like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. we will work something out. i would like to see a deal be made. >> that was a fascinating moment when he turned to the and said that. what do you think is behind president trump's seeming shift on settlements? during the campaign he blasted president obama's white house for abstaining on a vote and the un condemning settlement expansion? >> he is confronted with the realities now. you can promise anything you want on the campaign trail, but when you confront the hard realities in off...

There's no reason to believe that the palestinians are any less determined. >> the president did seem to kind of push back and directly talk to prime minister netanyahu during the press conference. i just want to play a moment from it. >> as with any successful negotiation, both sides will have to make compromises. you know that, right? as far as settlements, i would like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. we'll work something out. but i would like to see a deal be made. >> that was a fascinating moment, to see him turn to the prime minister and say that. what do you think i...