A US policy of strategic patience with North Korea has ended, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said yesterday in South Korea, adding that military action would be “on the table” if the North elevated the threat level.
Tillerson began his first Asian visit as secretary of state in Japan on Wednesday and is to travel to China later today with a main focus on finding a “new approach” on North Korea after what he described as two decades of failed efforts to denuclearize the insular nation.
“Let me be very clear: The policy of strategic patience has ended. We are exploring a new range of security and diplomatic measures. All options are on the table,” Tillerson told a news conference in Seoul.
Photo: EPA / Yonhap / Pool
He said any North Korean actions that threatened the South would be met with “an appropriate response.”
“If they elevate the threat of their weapons program to a level that we believe requires action, that option is on the table,” Tillerson said when asked about military action.
Tillerson also called on China to implement sanctions against North Korea and said there was no need for China to punish South Korea for deploying an advanced US anti-missile system aimed at defending against North Korea.
China says the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system’s powerful radar is a threat to its security.
“We believe these actions are unnecessary and troubling,” Tillerson said, referring to what South Korea sees as Chinese retaliation in the form of business restrictions in response to the deployment of the missile system.
“We also believe it is not the way for a regional power to help resolve what is a serious threat for everyone. So we hope China will alter its position on punishing South Korea,” he said.
“We hope they will work with us to eliminate the reason THAAD is required,” he said.
Pyongyang has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since the beginning of last year.
Last week, it launched four more ballistic missiles and is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the US.
South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se told the joint news conference the missile system was only intended to defend against North Korea, not any other country.
Tillerson earlier in the day had visited the Demilitarized Zone, and looked across the heavily fortified border at armed North Korean guards, staring back, and met some of the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.
Tillerson also met South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is acting president.
The latest bout of tension with North Korea comes at a time of political turmoil in South Korea, with former president Park Geun-hye ousted on Friday last week after being impeached in a corruption scandal and an election for a new president set for May 9.
A liberal opposition politician, Moon Jae-in, who has raised questions about the THAAD deployment, is leading in the opinion polls.
Tillerson said he expected Seoul’s new government would “continue to be supportive” of the deployment, adding it was also intended to protect US troops in South Korea.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) reiterated that talks were the best way to resolve the problems of the Korean Peninsula.
“As a close neighbor of the peninsula, China has even more reason than any other country to care about the situation,” she told a briefing.
She also said that the THAAD would “upset the regional strategic balance.”
The system’s radar, with a range of more than 2,000km, meant it could cover a large part of China, far outside the scope of the threat South Korea faces, Hua said.
“We do not oppose South Korea 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,” she said.
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