Trump: ‘Talking not the answer’ for North Korea

WASHINGTON — True to form, President Donald Trump sowed policy confusion with a tweet.

Declaring Wednesday that “talking is not the answer” on North Korea, Mr. Trump’s message appeared to clash with efforts by his Cabinet members to safeguard the possibility of a diplomatic solution as Kim Jong Un’s military races toward mastering a nucleartipped missile that can reach America.

The president’s morning tweet came a day after a highly provocative North Korean missile test that flew over Japan, a close American ally, potentially endangering civilians on the ground. On Wednesday, Mr. Kim called for more weapons launches in the Pacific.

“The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!” Mr. Trump tweeted.

Mr. Trump didn’t explain whathe meant by “extortion,” but he appeared to be referring to the $1.3 billion the U.S. has provided in aid to North Korea since 1995. Most of that hasbeen food and fuel.

Within hours of Mr. Trump’s tweet, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appeared to contradict him. “We’re never out of diplomatic solutions,” he said as he met with his counterpart from South Korea for talks on military readiness.

The U.S. military conducted a new missile-defense testoff the coast of Hawaii that itsaid was successful.

Troops in Afghanistan

The United States has about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Wednesday, acknowledging for the first time publicly that the total forces there are higher than formally disclosed in recent years. Previously, Defense Department officials had said 8,400 troops were in Afghanistan for NATO’s ResoluteSupport mission.

Aid to Pakistan

The Trump administration notified Congress on Wednesday that it was putting $255 million in military assistance to Pakistan into the equivalent of an escrow account that Islamabad can only access if it does more to crack down on internal terror networks.

IS evacuation blocked

U.S. airstrikes blocked the advance of an Islamic State convoy that was carrying militants toward Iraq on Wednesday, derailing a Hezbollah-negotiated deal that removed the extremists from the Lebanon-Syria border, where they have been for years.

Anti-corruption panel

Guatemala’s highest court ruled Tuesday that President Jimmy Morales could not expel the leader of a U.N. anti-corruption panel that has accused him of breaking campaign finance laws.