Tillerson offers reassurance, hints at tougher N. Korea policy
TOKYO - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hinted Thursday at a tougher strategy to confront North Korea’s nuclear threat but said Pyongyang had no need to fear the United States, an alternately threatening and reassuring message that suggested the Trump administration is still formulating a clear policy.
In Japan at the start of a three-country Asia tour, Tillerson offered no details about what would make up the “different approach” to North Korea that the U.S. will pursue. He pointedly noted that 20 years of “diplomatic and other efforts” had failed to dissuade the isolated communist government from developing its nuclear program, which he called an “ever-escalating threat.”
Speaking alongside Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Tillerson recited the long-standing U.S. demand that the North “abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and refrain from any further provocation.”
He said his visit to Asia was designed to “exchange views on a new approach,” echoing the comments of others in Washington, who have said President Donald Trump wants to examine all options — including military ones — for halting the North’s weapons programs before it becomes capable of developing a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the U.S. mainland.
But if Tillerson’s words were meant to put Pyongyang on notice, he quickly pivoted: “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.”
State Department spokesman Mark Toner wouldn’t specify Thursday what elements the new U.S. approach would entail. But he said Tillerson had sought to emphasize that the U.S. prefers a peaceful solution and was taking issue with North Korea’s government, not its people.
Tillerson’s trip, which will take him next to South Korea and China, comes as the Trump administration conducts a broad review of U.S. policy toward North Korea.
Central to the U.S. review is China and its role in any bid to persuade Pyongyang to change course. China remains the North’s most powerful ally.
While the U.S. and its allies in Seoul and Tokyo implore Beijing to press its economic leverage over North Korea, the Chinese have emphasized their desire to relaunch diplomatic talks — a nonstarter for the U.S. under current conditions.
The U.S. and China also disagree about U.S. deployment of a missile defense system to South Korea. The U.S. says it’s a system focused on North Korea. China sees it as a threat to its own security.
State Department officials have described Tillerson’s effort this week as a “listening tour” as the administration seeks a coherent North Korea policy.
Thomas Karako, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that after so many years of failed diplomacy, it’s inevitable the U.S. would consider more aggressive steps like military action.