Tillerson: Military acts on North Korea ‘on the table’

The US’ “strategic patience” with nuclear-armed North Korea is over, Tillerson said in Seoul on Friday.

The tough message Mr Tillerson was prepared to deliver in his trip to East Asia followed more proposals at both ends of the spectrum – including opening up talks with North Korea and preparing for military action against its key missile and nuclear sites – that were set aside, at least for now. He is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Saturday.

THAAD is created to intercept and destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles inside or beyond the atmosphere during their final, or terminal, phase of flight, USA authorities say, adding the system is strictly defensive and poses no threat to other countries in the region.

In a bid to make the current sanctions-oriented approach towards the North more effective, he urged allies and other countries to join the US-led efforts to wean Pyongyang away from nuclear ambitions, reported Yonhap news agency.

“Part of the goal of my visit to the region is to exchange views on a new approach”, Tillerson added, saying he would highlight the issue in Seoul and Beijing, the next stops on his trip.

China has “acted like North Korea’s lawyer at the UN Security Council. All options are on the table”. “But what he is trying to show is that Washington is not interested in engaging in dialogue with North Korea”.

Mr Tillerson said that his trip was meant to get input from other governments on how to deal with North Korea.

“We are pursuing a results-oriented relationship with China…”

North Korea has tested several ballistic missiles in recent months as it further defies United Nations sanctions against it, most recently in a launch which encroached on Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

“Certainly we do not want to, for things to get to military conflict”, he told reporters.

In an rare interview with CNN Thursday, an official with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Chinese hoped the USA would not move forward with the new penalties.

“We hope they will work with us to eliminate the reason THAAD is required”.

But when asked for details of a new approach, he did not answer. On this trip, he needs to reassure Tokyo and Seoul about countering North Korea’s growing nuclear prowess, and press China to do more on one of the most serious security threats facing Trump.

“We are calling on all countries to fully implement those sanctions”.

He may struggle, however, to reach a consensus on how to deal with North Korea’s latest missile launches. “It has worked in the past”, he said.

“Moreover, given the domestic political picture in North Korea is more opaque than ever, perhaps the feeling is that North Korea is harder to read in intentions and thus harder to deter”, Hughes said. “Tillerson expressed the understanding of this policy”, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said.

The Trump administration has already dipped a toe into sanctioning Chinese companies and by doing so is looking to expand a policy that the Obama administration began past year. Park had been in lockstep with Washington’s efforts to isolate North Korea.