US Secretary Rex Tillerson calls for ‘different approach’ on North Korea

President Donald Trump’s administration is now reviewing the U.S.’s policy toward North Korea, with all options on the table.

At the end of it, the situation remains the same: North Korea shows no hint of being willing to renounce nuclear weapons, whatever economic blows it receives and whatever China might think. “They deny evidence of North Korea wrongdoing, they insist on loopholes, they insist on watering down what would otherwise be more effective resolutions” at the United Nations, Klingner said. “China has done little to help!”.

While Trump’s rhetoric on China may risk increasing tensions with Beijing, the Obama administration left bilateral ties in relatively positive shape, despite a shaky start after Xi took office.

The Trump administration signaled a tough stance regarding North Korea at a White House dinner with a small group of journalists, including Scripps reporters, in late February. “That is a misguided statement”, said Wang Dong, associate professor of worldwide studies at China’s elite Peking University.

China has “acted like North Korea’s lawyer at the UN Security Council”.

Tillerson, however, said that “20 years of talks with North Korea have brought us to where we are today”.

“North Korea must understand that the only path to a secure, economic propitious future is to abandon its development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction”, Tillerson said.

“America has provided $1.3 billion in assistance (to North Korea) since 1995”.

President Donald Trump is seen as seeking to examine all options – including military ones – for halting the North’s weapons programs before Pyongyang becomes capable of developing a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the USA mainland.

Tillerson had not previously answered questions from reporters during his six weeks in office, and his comments in Japan were eagerly watched by global observers for indications as to what they meant for the Trump administration’s foreign policy.

While in Tokyo, Tillerson was also scheduled to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who forged a bond with President Trump during his visit to Washington last month.

Congress, which rules on the government’s purse strings and is controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, may reject some or numerous cuts to the State and USAID budgets, which pay for everything from maintaining America’s diplomatic corps to fighting poverty, promoting human rights and improving health in foreign nations.

Beijing vehemently opposes the system as it believes could be used for USA espionage on China’s own activities.

China earlier this month proposed a “suspension-for-suspension” in which Kim’s regime halts it nuclear and missile programs in exchange for the US and South Korea canceling major military exercises.

During the joint news conference with Kishida, Tillerson issued a far gentler version of that message, first underscoring the “long-standing” U.S. But Chinese officials are expected to confront Tillerson with complaints that the system could be used to spy on China.

The sanctions now levied against Pyongyang are among the most stringent ever enacted, but the pace of both North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs appear to be speeding up.

This is the second time in as many weeks that China has floated this plan. Tillerson said China should focus on the North Korean threat that makes the deployment necessary.

While Obama was president, Xi Jinping outlined, rhetorically at least, his desire to fundamentally redevelop a new type of great power relationship with the United States to avoid the conflictual great power patterns of the past. He said the allies had no intention to stand down the exercises that are defensive in nature and conducted transparently, unlike North Korean missile launches. Trump responded in a tweet: “It wont happen!”.

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

“Let me be very clear: the policy of strategic patience has ended”, said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“And whenever North Korea does some kind of a provocation or violation”, he continued, “they have this value-neutral response of calling on both Koreas not to raise tensions, when it is only their Korea which is doing so”.

The announcement by KCNA suggests the North now has advanced surveillance equipment that allows it to detect even drills that the USA, for all its overt show of force during the joint exercises, wants to keep secret. South Korea has grown tremendously since the combat phase of the Korean War ended, yet USA military commitments to South Korea have not concomitantly shrunk.

Such ideas could gain traction, however, if North Korea proceeds with a threatened test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.

Earlier, Tillerson visited the Demilitarized Zone, and looked across the heavily fortified border at armed North Korean guards, staring back.

Indeed, I do believe that you had a very productive meeting with Foreign Minister Kishida just now, and I do hope that your visit, after my meeting with you, will really contribute to the strengthening of our Japan-U.S. alliance.