North Korea’s Kim eases his rhetoric

U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman stresses diplomacy, sanctions

TOKYO — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared to take a step back from the brink of nuclear war Tuesday, when state media reported that he would “watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees.”

But, as is often the case with North Korea, the message was mixed: Kim was inspecting the missile unit tasked with preparing to strike near Guam, and photos released by state media showed a large satellite image of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam on the screen beside the leader.

“The U.S. should stop at once arrogant provocations against the DPRK and unilateral demands and not provoke it any longer,” the North Korean leader told his missile unit, according to a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency published Tuesday.

If “the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity,” Kim continued, North Korea would “make an important decision as it already declared,” he said.

Kim was visiting the Strategic Force of the Korean People’s Army, the elite missile unit that — according to state media — is finalizing preparations to launch ballistic missiles into the Pacific Ocean near the American territory of Guam. A decision was due this week, a week during which the Kim regime is celebrating the ruling family with huge propaganda displays in North Korea.

This came just hours after the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told South Korean leaders Monday that the United States was ready to use the “full range” of its military capabilities to deal with North Korea.

But Gen. Joseph Dunford, speaking in Seoul, just 30 miles south of the border with North Korea, stressed that diplomacy and sanctions were the first plan of attack.

“The military dimension today is directly in support of that diplomatic and economic effort,” Dunford told reporters after meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul.

“It would be a horrible thing were a war to be conducted here on the peninsula, and that’s why we’re so focused on coming up with a peaceful way ahead,” he said, according to Stars and Stripes.

“Nobody’s looking for war,” the Marine general said, according to the newspaper.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday afternoon in Washington that it will be “game on” with North Korea if it hits the United States, including Guam, but he left it much more ambiguous what will happen if Pyongyang decides to shoot missiles near Guam, without attempting to hit the U.S. island territory.

China, meanwhile, signaled a potentially important break with North Korea as part of international sanctions. Beijing announced Monday that it would ban imports of iron ore, iron, lead and coal from North Korea, cutting an important economic lifeline for Pyongyang. The ban will take effect from Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries next week are set to start their annual fall exercises, in which they practice responding to a North Korean invasion or the collapse of the regime in Pyongyang. North Korea always strongly objects to the drills, viewing them as a pretext for war.

Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said the exercises would go ahead as planned, starting Aug. 21. “The exercises remain important to us, and we’ll continue to move forward,” he said, according to Stars and Stripes.