US promises it will support allies in event of North Korean nuclear strike
US SECRETARY of State John Kerry has called for dialogue with Pyongyang to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula, warning that it would be a “huge mistake” if the communist state fired off missiles in defiance of international pressure.
Mr Kerry visited Seoul on Friday, Beijing on Saturday and was in Japan yesterday amid mounting fears that North Korea could launch mid-range missiles after a barrage of belligerent threats over the past month. He said in Tokyo that Japan and the US could not allow North Korea to possess nuclear weapons
In Beijing, Mr Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, said the US and China would work together to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons. “The US and China are able to underscore our joint commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner,’’ he said. “We agreed that this is critically important for stability and for all of our nonproliferation efforts.”
World powers imposed tough sanctions on Pyongyang after Kim Jong-un’s regime conducted a nuclear weapons test in February.
China is under pressure to rein in the North.
In Seoul on Friday, Mr Kerry described North Korea’s recent threats as “unacceptable by any standard”, but said Washington was willing to resume talks if Pyongyang showed it was serious about winding down its nuclear programme.
“We have lowered our rhetoric significantly and we are attempting to find a way for reasonableness to prevail here,” he said. “Our preference would be to get to talks” he added, noting that they could be conducted either directly with North Korea or through the “six-party” format also including China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Mr Kerry’s conciliatory comments came a day after South Korean President Park Geun-hye offered dialogue with North Korea in a shift from her recent hawkish stance. Financial Times