US sets sail in bid for sanity
THE United States has pledged to step up sanctions to force North Korea to resume dialogue over its nuclear program but says it is not looking to bring Kim Jong-Un’s regime to its knees.
After briefing senators at the White House, top US officials said President Donald Trump also aimed to pursue diplomatic measures with allies and regional partners.
“We are engaging responsi- ble members of the international community to increase pressure on [North Korea] in order to convince the regime to de-escalate and return to the path of dialogue,” Pentagon chief Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Intelligence director Dan Coats said.
Admiral Harry Harris, who heads the Pacific Command, welcomed recent moves by Beijing to defuse soaring tensions between Pyongyang and Washington and suggested a non-military solution remained the preferred outcome.
“It’s critical that we’re guided by a strong sense of resolve, both privately and publicly, both diplomatically and militarily,” Admiral Harris said.
“All options are on the table. We want to bring Kim Jong-Un to his senses, not to his knees.”
During a lunch with UN Security Council ambassadors on Monday, President Trump “was very clear he will be the President who will deal with” North Korea and that military action remains an option if China fails to rein in Pyongyang, a senior diplomat said.
National security adviser H.R. McMaster told the 15 am- bassadors “there would be a military solution even if they don’t want to do it”, the diplomat said.
The message was “ideally we do this peacefully and poli- tically, which means through China. But if that doesn’t work, there is another plan, which is through the United States,” said the diplomat.
Separately, a senior adminis-
All options are on the table. We want to bring Kim Jong-Un to his senses, not to his knees. ADMIRAL HARRY HARRIS
tration official said the US was considering adding North Korea to the countries designated “state sponsors of terrorism”.
US troops in South Korea on Wednesday began deploying a contentious anti-missile system that has infuriated China.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system is being set up on a former golf course in the southern county of Seongju, and its arrival was met by hundreds of protesters.
Admiral Harris said the system “will be operational in the coming days”. China fears it will weaken its own ballistic capabilities and says it upsets the regional security balance.
Harris also said the Pentagon should weigh whether to install missile interceptors on Hawaii, which could be one of the first parts of the United States in range of an improved North Korean missile, in addition to existing interceptors in California and Alaska.
Pentagon officials have stressed to Trump that there are no easy options for military intervention in North Korea.
Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the peninsula, amid signs the North could be preparing for a sixth nuclear test.
The deployment drew wide derision after it emerged that, instead of steaming towards the peninsula, the ships actually headed in the opposite direction for a few days to train with the Australian navy.
“That’s my fault on the confusion and I’ll take the hit for it,” Admiral Harris said.
The USS Carl Vinson strike group was now in the Philippine Sea just east of Okinawa, “in striking range and power projection range of North Korea if called upon to do that,” he said.
Congressman Mac Thornberry, who heads the House Armed Services Committee, said there is “tremendous confidence” among administration officials on dealing with North Korea.
He added “all options” have to be on the table.