U.S. RUSHES TO CALM ASIAN ALLIES

THE US HAS REASSURED ITS KEY ASIAN ALLIES JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA THAT ITS POLICY SEEKING THE NORTH’S NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT REMAINS UNCHANGED AFTER ITS INTELLIGENCE CHIEF CALLED IT A LOST CAUSE

Washington has always maintained it cannot accept North Korea as a nuclear state

The US wants North Korea to make tangible commitment towards denuclearisation for any talks

But director of National Intelligence James Clapper had suggested that such a policy was based on wishful thinking

Clapper’s comment reflected an opinion widely held among North Korea experts

State department spokesman John Kirby has already rebuffed Clapper’s position

US deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken took issue with that view in Tokyo

After a trilateral meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, he said US policy is unchanged

UNSC is discussing a new resolution to punish North Korea over its fifth nuclear test in September

The deputy foreign ministers made clear that North Korea now poses a new level of threat and requires tougher sanctions

Japanese vice-foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama said North Korea’s missile and nuclear capability had entered a new level of threat

South Korea plans to restart talks with Japan on a military intelligence sharing agreement

I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearise is probably a lost cause. The best we could probably hope for is some sort of a cap — James Clapper, Director, US National Intelligence Our policy has not changed. We will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state. Period. We are focussed on increasing the pressure on North Korea

— Antony Blinken, US Dy secy of state