Korean leaders, U.S. open door to talks
Three nations signal willingness to avert deepening crisis.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA— North Korea’s military Tuesday presented leader Kim Jong Un with plans to launch missiles into waters near the U.S. territory of Guam and “wring the windpipes of the Yankees,” even as both Koreas and the United States signaled their willingness to avert a deepening crisis, with each suggesting a path toward negotiations.
The tentative interest in diplomacy follows unusually combative threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea amid worries Pyongyang is nearing its long-sought goal of building a nuclear missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. Next week’s start of U.S.-South Korean military exercises that enrage the North each year could make diplomacy even more difficult.
During an inspection of the North Korean army’s Strategic Forces, which handles the missile program, Kim praised the military for drawing up a “close and careful plan” and said he would watch the “foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees” a little more before deciding whether to order the missile test, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. Kim appeared in photos sitting at a table with a large map marked by a straight line between what appeared to be northeastern North Korea and Guam, and passing over Japan — apparently showing the missiles’ flight route.
The missile plans were previously announced. Kim said North Korea would conduct the launches if the “Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity,” the news agency said.
The Trump administration had no immediate comments on Kim’s declaration. “We continue to be interested in trying to find a way to get to dialogue, but that’s up to him,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Tuesday.
Lobbing missiles toward Guam, a major U.S. military hub in the Pacific, would be deeply provocative. On Monday, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Washington would take out any missile seen to be heading for American soil, warning that such a North Korean attack could mean war.
Kim’s conditional tone, however, hinted the friction could ease if the U.S. offered a gesture Pyongyang sees as a step back from “extremely dangerous reckless actions.” That could refer to the U.S.South Korean military drills set to begin Monday.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to stop provocations and to commit to talks over its nuclear weapons program.