Top diplomat calls for ‘new approach’ to Pyongyang
TOKYO: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, saying the isolated nation “need not fear” the US.
Tillerson made that declaration after meeting his Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, where they discussed possible new approaches in dealing with Pyongyang.
He said 20 years of US diplomatic and other efforts to get North Korea to denuclearize have failed, but gave no specifics about how the Trump administration, which is currently doing a policy review, would tackle the issue.
Tillerson described the weapons programs as “dangerous and unlawful.”
The former Exxon Mobil CEO is making his first trip to Asia as the top US diplomat.
Tensions are running high on the divided Korean Peninsula, and North Korea last week launched four missiles into seas off Japan and where the US is currently conducting annual military drills with South Korea. Pyongyang views this as a rehearsal for invasion.
“North Korea and its people need not fear the United States or their neighbors in the region who seek only to live in peace with North Korea,” the secretary of state told a news conference in Tokyo.
“With this in mind, the United States calls on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and refrain from any further provocation.”
He also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Citing recent North Korean missile launches, Tillerson said that “in the face of this ever-escalating threat it is clear that a different approach is required.”
He said his trip was intended to get input from other governments.
Tillerson will travel Friday to South Korea and then China on Saturday.
Both Tillerson and Kishida urged China use its economic leverage with North Korea to push it to change course.
During last year’s election campaign, US presidential candidate Donald Trump called into question US security alliances and called for Tokyo and Seoul to contribute more for their defense.
Tillerson, however, stressed that cooperation with Japan and South Korea was “critical.”
Kishida said the US and Japan had an “unwavering bond.”
Japan and South Korea both host tens of thousands of US troops.
Washington has been urging the two nations to step security up cooperation despite their historically strained relations.
This week, the nations’ three navies have conducted missile defense informa- tion-sharing drills in the region.
Tillerson said that the escalating threat from North Korea’s nuclear program showed a clear need for a “new approach,” although he stopped short of detailing what steps the Trump administration would pursue.
Two decades of diplomatic and other efforts, including aid given to North Korea by the US, had failed to achieve the goal of denuclearizing Pyongyang, he said.
“So we have 20 years of approach,” Tillerson said.
“That includes a period where the US has provided $1.35 billion in assistance to North Korea as an encouragement to take a different pathway.”
He added: “In the face of this everescalating threat, it is clear that a different approach is required. Part of the purpose of my visit to the region is to exchange views on a new approach.”
The New York Times reported on Wednesday he will warn Chinese officials that the US would increase missile defenses in the region and target Chinese banks if Beijing does not constrain North Korea’s nuclear and missile ambitions.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said earlier that Tillerson will have “substantive, hard” talks with US partners in Asia on next steps in dealing with North Korea, but his visit was not likely to produce an immediate specific response.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying repeated Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s proposal last week that North Korea should stop its nuclear and missile tests and South Korea and the US should stop joint military drills and seek talks instead.
“We welcome all parties, including the US, to come up with their own proposals,” Hua told a daily news briefing.
“As long as these proposals are conducive to ameliorating the present tense situation on the Korean peninsula and are beneficial to maintaining regional peace and stability ... China will have an open attitude.” failed