RTFri, 17 Mar 2017 19:14 UTC
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump has accused North Korea of "behaving very badly" and "playing" the US for years, shortly after Secretary of State Red Tillerson hinted military options were on the table during his visit to South Korea.
"China has done little to help!" Trump also said in a tweet from his personal account. Tillerson is due to visit Beijing on Saturday and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
After meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on Friday, Tillerson told reporters that the US "policy of strategic patience has ended."
"We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures. All options are on the table," he said during a joint news conference in Seoul.
While the US does not want military conflict, if North Korea elevates the threat of its weapons program to a level Washington believes requires action, "that option's on the table," TIllerson added.
US, Japan and South Korea are currently holding naval exercises off the coast of the peninsula. Washington is also deploying armed drones and the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea, in an effort to defend from North Korea's ballistic missiles.
China has voiced concerns over the THAAD, suggesting it might threaten its own nuclear deterrent and encourage US first-strike capability. The US insists the system is purely defensive and intended solely to deter Pyongyang.
Talks were the best way to resolve the problems on the Korean peninsula, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday, according to Reuters. However, the US missile defense system would "upset the regional strategic balance," as its radars would cover a large part of China.
"We do not oppose South Korean taking necessary measures to protect its security, but these measures cannot be based upon harming the security interests of South Korea's friendly neighbor, China," Hua said.North Korea has tested four ballistic missiles last week, and vowed "merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater" if the US and South Korea violate its "sovereignty and dignity even a bit."
South Korean President Park Geun-hye was removed from office last week, after she was impeached in a corruption scandal. New elections are scheduled for May 9. Moon Jae-in, an opposition politician who has questioned the THAAD deployment, is leading in the opinion polls.
Comment: US military action against North Korea is an "
option on the table," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has stated, adding that Washington's "strategic patience" with the isolated country has ended.
However, he went on to say that "if they (North Korea) elevate the threat of their weapons program to a level that we believe requires action, then, that option's on the table."
He added that a "comprehensive set of capabilities" is being developed to deal with the country.
Tillerson's comments were made after visiting the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas.
It comes just three days after the North's state news agency KCNA warned the US of "merciless" attacks if America's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier 'USS Carl Vinson', which arrived in South Korea to take part in annual drills, infringed on its sovereignty during the exercises.
"If they infringe on the DPRK's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea's) sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater," the news outlet said.
While the exercises were taking place, a second set of trilateral drills were ongoing between the US, South Korea, and Japan, aimed at improving the capability to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles.
Update (Mar. 18): The United States is against a conflict with North Korea, however, it is not ruling out new broader UN sanctions against the country because of its missile and nuclear programs, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson
said Saturday.
"The first steps are the UN sanctions. There are broader sanctions that we can consider. I think that there are additional actions that the UN, that we can consider. There are broader participation by other countries in putting pressure on North Korea," Tillerson told the Independent Journal Review news website, answering the question about possible ways to deter North Korea.
Washington does not want a conflict with North Korea, the US state secretary noted, adding that the main aim is to deliver this message to Pyongyang.
"In terms of the urgency right now is to ensure that the regime of Pyongyang has heard the message. That's why we've tried to be very clear and succinct with the message, which is, first, we do not intend to be a threat to you. We do not want to have a conflict with you. We want you to change your direction. And we want others in the region to help us help them [North Korea] make a different decision," Tillerson stressed.
The US state secretary emphasized that the United States would like to see the Korean peninsula without any nuclear weapons, but added it might become necessary to consider Japan becoming a nuclear power if the situation unfolded unfavorably.
Comment: US military action against North Korea is an "option on the table," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has stated, adding that Washington's "strategic patience" with the isolated country has ended. Update (Mar. 18): The United States is against a conflict with North Korea, however, it is not ruling out new broader UN sanctions against the country because of its missile and nuclear programs, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson said Saturday.