Tillerson cites pre-emptive option for NKorea

Beijing likes having North Korea as a buffer between itself and US-allied South Korea, but also has shown signs of impatience over North Korea’s continued nuclear testing. His administration also has an urgent need to fill out its ranks with senior appointments at the departments of state and defense.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told a joint news conference the missile system was only meant to defend against North Korea, not any other country.

Even if Trump were willing to hold one-on-one talks with North Korea, his administration clearly is not ready to do so, because it lacks both a coherent policy and a credible policymaking operation.

“We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security, economic measures”. He said the drills are aimed at using atomic weapons for a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. While the United States does not want military conflict, threats “would be met with an appropriate response”, he added.

In a surprise turn of events, Yun appeared to suggest that South Korea would support military options. But China has opposed it, arguing the system’s powerful radars could spy on its flights and missile launches.

“He is making a very sensible calculation”, said a former USA official, noting that Congress, not the president, holds the purse strings and is nearly certain to reject numerous administration’s proposed cuts.

His thesis is that North Korea, the USA and its South Korean ally are embarked on a risky course of gaming out first-strike capacities. But he offered no details about what would comprise the “different approach” to North Korea the US will pursue.

The liberal South Korean politician most likely to become the country’s next president would, if elected, review how the government would deploy an advanced US missile defense system and would consult China, two of his top advisers said on Friday.

“At this point, it’s nearly the inevitable next step in the escalation”.

“I highly value the fact that you chose Japan as your first place to visit in Asia”, he said, adding that it indicates the “importance” the U.S. attaches to the relationship. The significance of firing four rockets is that firing a quartet would increase the chances of eluding a sophisticated USA anti-missile defense system known as THAAD.

“For a while in the future, the US policy toward North Korea will be led by the Department of Defense, not the Department of State, putting military pressure to hold China in check rather than diplomatic means”, he noted. Nearly nothing can be done to stop the first rounds of incoming shells. Such an approach offers a more positive direction for both US-ROK relations and their relations with the DPRK than the present strategy, which relies on sanctions and isolation to force the North’s preemptive capitulation.

While war with North Korea may be unlikely for now, Pentagon planners and private analysts have given deep thought to how U.S. military intervention with the reclusive country would play out. President Donald Trump responded in a tweet: “It won’t happen!”

All of this comes as the Trump administration is reviewing whether there are fresh options for dealing with North Korea, a situation that the Trump and Obama administrations have agreed is extremely hard to manage.

The secretary of state is now touring northeast Asia, after a missile launch last week that Pyongyang described as a drill for an attack on USA bases in Japan.

More broadly, Tillerson poured cold water on the idea of resuming negotiations with Pyongyang, saying, “20 years of talks with North Korea have brought us to where we are today”. This group of countries has worked together previously to negotiate with North Korea, so there is precedent. Tillerson has said his maiden Asia tour. “While doing it, he will consult with the United States, as well as China”. This demonstration would have to involve a much-needed “shot across the bow” of the North to establish its credibility, not only with the North but also with Korea and Japan.

But the United States and its allies still have options on the spectrum between diplomatic talks and military action for persuading Kim and his regime to give up their nuclear weapons, he said.

Tillerson, who plans to stop in South Korea on Friday before heading to Beijing, said that China had a major role to play in a solution for North Korea.

Pastor Peter Jung, who heads Justice for North Korea in Seoul, told Yonhap the two South Korean nationals were “protecting defectors” but were tracked down by Chinese police who promptly arrested the religious clerics and their families.

Tillerson repeated Friday the USA had spent too much money on a failed North Korea policy.

But that could change in early May.

The first principle reflects the USA refusal to acknowledge the North as a nuclear power and resistance to substantial improvements in relations with Pyongyang until it first undertakes significant steps to freeze and dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.

Even as all of this is happening, there is also evidence North Korea may be preparing for another underground nuclear test.

South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said on Thursday China’s retaliation over South Korea’s agreement to host a THAAD unit is because of a lack of understanding about the USA missile defense system.