Washington seeks dialogue
The US pledged yesterday to step up sanctions to force North Korea to resume dialogue over its nuclear program but said it was not looking to bring Kim JongUn’s regime to its knees. After briefing senators, top US officials said President Donald Trump also aimed to pursue diplomatic measures with allies and regional partners.
THE US pledged yesterday to step up sanctions to force North Korea to resume dialogue over its nuclear program but said it was not looking to bring Kim Jong-Un’s regime to its knees.
After briefing senators at the White House, top US officials said President Donald Trump also aimed to pursue diplomatic measures with allies and regional partners.
“We are engaging responsible members of the international community to increase pressure on (North Korea) in order to convince the regime to de-escalate and return to the path of dialogue,” read a statement from Pentagon chief Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
Admiral Harry Harris, who heads the Pacific Command, earlier welcomed recent moves by Beijing to defuse soaring tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, and suggested a non-military solution remained the preferred outcome.
“It’s critical that we’re guided by a strong sense of resolve, both privately and publicly, both diplomatically and militarily,” Admiral Harris said in Washington.
“All options are on the table. We want to bring Kim Jong-Un to his senses, not to his knees.”
During a White House luncheon with UN Security Council ambassadors on Tuesday, Mr Trump “was very clear that he will be the president who will deal with” North Korea and that military action remains an option if China fails to rein in Pyongyang, a senior diplomat said.
The message was “ideally we do this peacefully and politically, which means through China. But if that doesn’t work, there is another plan, which is through the United States,” said the diplomat.
US troops in South Korea yesterday began deploying a contentious anti-missile system in South Korea that has infuriated China.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is being set up on a former golf course in the southern county of Seongju and its arrival was met by hundreds of protesters, some of whom clashed with police.