Trump team sending mixed signals
Unclear whether U.S. seeks an eventual dialogue with North Korea, or a ‘regime change’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his top national security aides delivered contrasting messages of alarm and reassurance over North Korea’s expanding nuclear capabilities, with the commander in chief touting America’s atomic supremacy a day after threatening “fire and fury” for the Communist country.
As international alarm escalated over the still-remote possibility of nuclear confrontation, Trump on Wednesday dug in on his threats of military action and posted video of his ultimatum to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In a rare flexing of America’s own nuclear might, Trump said his first order as president was to “renovate and modernize” an arsenal that is “now far stronger and more powerful than ever before.”
The suggestion that Trump has done anything to enhance U.S. nuclear firepower was immediately disputed by experts, who noted no progress under Trump’s presidency.
The tweets did little to soothe concerns in the United States and beyond that Trump was helping push the standoff with North Korea into uncharted and even more dangerous territory. While the prospect of military action by either side appears slim, Trump’s talk Tuesday of “fire and fury like the world has never seen” compounded fears of an accident or misunderstanding leading the nuclear-armed nations into conflict.
After North Korea issued its own warning to the U.S., suggesting it could attack the American territory of Guam, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to calm the sense of crisis. Speaking earlier Wednesday on his way home from Asia, he credited Trump with sending a strong message to the North Korean leader on the “unquestionable” U.S. ability to defend itself, so as to prevent “any miscalculation.”
No sooner had Tillerson ratcheted down the rhetoric than Defence Secretary Jim Mattis ratcheted it back up.
Echoing Trump’s martial tone, Mattis said North Korea should stand down its nuclear weapons program and “cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.”
It was unclear, however, how serious to take all the war talk. Markets weren’t rattled by the back-andforth threats. Trump had no meetings on his schedule Wednesday. There were no indications from the Pentagon of urgent planning or new assets being hastily deployed to the Pacific region.
The “fire and fury” proclamation that Trump delivered at his New Jersey golf club was his own message, his spokeswoman said Wednesday. It came after Trump and his chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, had been in conversations with members of the National Security Council.
“The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand” with advisers, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. But she said: “The words were his own.”
Trump’s alarmist tone sparked criticism among his political opponents in the United States and concern among allies and partners in Asia.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said “reckless rhetoric is not a strategy to keep America safe.”
Confusion in the administration’s message has reigned for weeks.
Tillerson has asserted repeatedly the U.S. isn’t seeking “regime change” in North Korea, urging an eventual dialogue.
Vice-President Mike Pence last week rejected the notion of direct talks with North Korea.
The North Koreans, meanwhile, deployed their own, typically febrile rhetoric. On Tuesday, the North Korean army said it’s studying a plan to create an “enveloping fire” around Guam with medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles.