N Korea a threat to Hawaii, says US
UNITED STATES: The Pentagon needs to consider deploying new anti-ballistic missile systems and a defensive radar to Hawaii to protect against a growing threat from North Korea, the top US military officer in the Pacific has told Congress.
‘‘Kim Jong-un is clearly in a position to threaten Hawaii today, in my opinion,’’ Admiral Harry Harris, the chief of US Pacific Command, told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. ‘‘I have suggested that we consider putting interceptors in Hawaii that ... defend (it) directly, and that we look at a defensive Hawaii radar.’’
The US currently has antimissile interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and in Fort Greely, Alaska.
Harris was repeatedly questioned by lawmakers from Hawaii on the threat posed to their state. The current defence setup was ’’sufficient to protect Hawaii today, but it can be overwhelmed’’, he said.
Harris warned that North Korea’s ballistic missile testing was picking up speed and becoming more aggressive. The country conducted more than 20 such tests last year.
‘‘Kim’s strategic capabilities are not yet an existential threat to the US, but if left unchecked, he will gain the capability to match his rhetoric.’’
Harris stressed to lawmakers that there was a sense of urgency. ‘‘With every test, Kim Jong-un moves closer to his stated goal of a pre-emptive nuclear strike capa- bility against American cities,’’ he said. ‘‘Defending our homeland is my top priority, so I must assume that Kim Jong-un’s nuclear claims are true.’’
The USS Carl Vinson strike group, which has positioned itself in the Philippine Sea, could now reach North Korea in a two-hour flight, Harris said. He dismissed North Korea’s threats to sink the aircraft carrier and its strike group, saying: ‘‘If it flies, it will die.’’
Echoing President Donald Trump, he said the military had to consider ‘‘every possible option’’ when dealing with North Korea, but also cautioned that the objective should be ‘‘to bring Kim Jongun to his senses, not his knees’’.
A US advanced missile defence system being installed in South Korea would be operational in a few days, Harris said. The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery can target short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in flight. China and Russia have opposed the system, saying it undermines their own security interests.
Harris testified a few hours before the entire US Senate went to the White House for a rare classified meeting to discuss the North Korean threat, followed by a briefing to the House of Representatives.
The Trump administration said afterwards it aimed to push North Korea into dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes through tougher international sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and remained open to negotiations to bring this about.
The statement from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats described North Korea as ‘‘an urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority’’.
Democratic Senator Christopher Coons told reporters after the White House briefing that military options were discussed.
Tillerson will chair a ministerial meeting of the United Nations Security Council tomorrow that is expected to discuss tougher sanctions, which US officials say could include an oil embargo, banning North Korea’s airline, intercepting cargo ships, and punishing Chinese and other foreign banks doing business with Pyongyang. - TNS, Reuters