World snapshot US vows to force NK to the nuclear table
THE US has pledged to step up sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear program — while launching one of its own intercontinental ballistic missiles into the Pacific.
Washington wants to resume dialogue over the rogue state’s military actions, 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,” Pentagon chief Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a joint statement.
Earlier, Admiral Harry Harris, who heads the Pacific Command, 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 Monday, 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.
Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the peninsula in a show of force, amid signs the North could be preparing for a sixth nuclear test.
In Pyongyang’s latest display of its military capabilities, Kim oversaw the country’s largest- ever firing drill to mark the founding anniversary of its military, state- run media said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile the US launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from California in a test of a weapon system which forms part of its nuclear force.
The Minuteman 3 missile blasted off in the early hours of Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base, towards a target some 6759km away in the Pacific Ocean.
Colonel John Moss, commander of Vandenberg’s 30th Space Wing, said in a statement the launch was an important demonstration of the nation’s nuclear deterrent capability.