North Korea: Washington and Seoul

pledge 'swift punitive measures'

Senators who attended White House briefing say no military option was presented as US
prioritises sanctions and strongarm diplomacy

Spencer Ackerman in New York, Ben Jacobs in Washington and agencies

Thursday 27 April 2017 09.01BST

The US has signalled sanctions and diplomatic pressure are its priorities for dealing
with North Korea as senators who attended a White House briefing said they had not
been presented with a specific military option.

Tensions between the US and North Korea are already inflamed before an anticipated
sixth nuclear test from Pyongyang, which has accelerated its long-range missile
development programme.

A statement on Thursday from the South Korean presidents office said Seoul and
Washington had agreed to swiftly take punitive measures against North Korea in
the event of more provocation, following a telephone conversation between the US
national security adviser, HR McMaster, and his South Korean counterpart, Kim
Kwan-jin.

The two sides pledged that in the event of additional strategic provocation by the
North to swiftly take punitive measures, including a new UN security council
resolution, that are unbearable for the North, the statement said.

It followed Wedensdays joint statement from the US secretary of state Rex Tillerson,
secretary of defence James Mattis, and director of national intelligence Dan Coats,
that said President Trump would pressure Pyongyang by tightening economic
sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our allies and regional partners
an approach adopted by the past three US administrations.

It also said past efforts had failed to stop the advance of Pyongyangs nuclear and
missile programmes.

Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee who
attended the White House briefing, said senators were not presented with any
specific military option. The statement from the three cabinet officials also did not
outline any additional military steps.

Coons said a resolution of the very difficult North Korea problem would require
persistent engaged allocation of diplomatic and military resources and effort. He
said he believed Trump was developing a diplomatic strategy that strikes me as
clear-eyed and well proportioned to the threat.

At the briefing, Trump asserted that a different course on North Korea diplomacy
would stem from his ability to get things done, according to a Senate aide.

But members of both parties were concerned that the White House did not have an
effective plan and doesnt understand the level of effort necessary to reach a
diplomatic solution, the aide said.

Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of US Pacific Command (Pacom), told a

congressional panel on Wednesday his goal was to bring Kim Jong-un to his senses,
not to his knees.

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Topics
US foreign policy
North Korea/South Korea/Weapons technology/Nuclear weapons/Asia Pacific/news