U.S. officials: North Korea confrontation not imminent

WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. national security officials said Sunday that a military confrontation with North Korea is not imminent, but they cautioned the possibility of war is greater thanit was a decade ago.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, tried to provide assurances that a conflict is avoidable, while also supporting Mr. Trump’s tough talk. They said the United States and its allies no longer can afford to stand by as North Korea pushes ahead with the development of a nucleartipped intercontinental ballistic missile.

“We’re not closer to war than a week ago but we are closer to war than we were a decade ago,” Gen. McMaster said, adding that the Trump administration is prepared to deal militarily with North Korea if necessary.

Buthe said the U.S. is pursuing “a very determined diplomatic-effort” led by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that’s coupled with new financial sanctions to dissuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from further provocations. “The U.S. military is locked and loaded every day,” Gen. McMaster said, repeating Mr. Trump’s threat.

Mr. Pompeo said “there’s nothing imminent today,” in response to a question about how worried people should be over the escalating tensions. He said the U.S. has a “pretty good idea” of North Korea’s intentions, but Mr. Pompeo declined to provide specifics. The CIA chief described Mr. Kim as “rational” and responsive to “adverse circumstances.” “The reaction in North Korea that we are intending to get is an is an understanding that America is no longer going to have the strategic patience that it’s had that has permitted him to continue to develop his weapons program,” Mr. Pompeo said. “It’s that straightforward.”

The top U.S. military officer, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, is traveling in Asia and expected to meet with leaders in South Korea, Japan and China. Gen. Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he aims to “sense what the temperature is in the region.” He also will discuss military options in the event the “diplomatic and economic pressurization campaign” fails. “We’re all looking to get out of this situation without a war,” Gen. Dunford said.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, made a plea for cool-headedness in a phone conversation with Mr. Trump on Saturday, urging both sides to avoid words or actions that could worsen the situation.

The call came after Mr. Trump made fresh threats against North Korea on Friday, declaring the U.S. military “locked and loaded” and warning Mr. Kim that he “will regret it fast” if he takes any action against U.S. territories or allies.

Mr. Trump has pushed China to pressure North Korea to halt a nuclear weapons program that is nearing the capability of targeting the United States. China is the North’s biggest economic partner and source of aid, but says it alone can’t compel its wayward ally to end its nuclear and missile programs.

The White House said in a statement that Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi “agreed North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behavior.” It also said the two “reiterated their mutual commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”