US officials: No conflict with North Korea for now

WASHINGTON: Senior US national security officials said a military confrontation with North Korea is not imminent, but they cautioned that the possibility of war is greater than it was a decade ago.

CIA director Mike Pompeo and Army Lt Gen H.R. McMaster, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, tried to provide assurances on Sunday that a conflict is avoidable, while also supporting Trump’s tough talk.

They said the United States and its allies could no longer afford to stand by as North Korea pushed ahead with the development of a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile.

“We’re not closer to war than a week ago, but we are closer to war than we were a decade ago,” McMaster said, adding that the Trump administration was prepared to deal militarily with North Korea if necessary.

But he stressed that the United States was pursuing “a very determined diplomatic effort” led by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson coupled with new financial sanctions to dissuade North Korean leader Kim Jong-un from further provocations.

“The US military is locked and loaded every day,” McMaster said, repeating Trump’s threat.

Pompeo said “there’s nothing imminent today” in response to a question about how worried people should be over the escalating tensions.

He said the United States had a “pretty good idea” of North Korea’s intentions, but Pompeo declined to provide specifics.

The CIA chief described Kim as “rational” and responsive to “adverse circumstances”.

“The reaction in North Korea that we are intending to get is an understanding that America is no longer going to have the strategic patience that it’s had that has permitted him to continue to develop his weapons programme,” Pompeo said. “It’s that straightforward.”