Trump Undermines His Own Secretary Of State, Promises To Do ‘What Has To Be Done’ To North Korea
The United States Secretary of State, and the country’s top diplomat, Rex Tillerson, disclosed over the weekend that the United States was in direct contact with Pyongyang regarding its nuclear and missile programs. Following those conversations, President Trump has said that the Secretary of State is wasting his time trying to get on the same page with the rogue state, even though doing so could be the only way to prevent nuclear war.
The State Department said North Korea had shown no interest in dialogue.
On Saturday, Tillerson had spoken of having lines of communication to Pyongyang.
“We’re not in a dark situation, a blackout. We have a couple, three channels open to Pyongyang.”
Tillerson, clearly trying to defuse and deescalate the entire situation, spoke of peaceful denuclearization of North Korea and assured everyone that the U.S. is not interested in trying to take over Kim’s regime.
“I think the whole situation’s a bit overheated right now. I think everyone would like for it to calm down.”
In what was an extremely rare instance of direct and, for all intents and purposes, civil communication between the two nations, it remains unknown what, if anything, has resulted from the communication.
A State Department spokesperson said on Saturday that nothing positive came from the dialogue that took place.
“North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or ready for talks regarding denuclearization.”
In recent months, the tension between the United States and North Korea has risen as the isolated regime continues to conduct missile tests, and both nations have engaged in a war of words.
Just this morning, President Trump gave his exact opinion on America’s most recent attempt to, if nothing else, understand North Korea’s mindset.
…Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017
Despite an attempt by his own Secretary of State, not to mention the urging of other countries like Russia and China to engage with North Korea peacefully, President Trump does not appear to believe that is the way to go. He seems convinced that Kim Jong-un is a madman and perhaps the only way to get to him is to be aggressive.
At the moment, the U.S. has not ruled out the use of force to get Pyongyang’s attention and convince the regime to halt all missile and nuclear tests, and last week President Trump even threatened to “totally destroy” the country.
Privately, though, senior figures admit the military options do not look promising. They are definitely taking into account the fact that South Korea’s densely populated capital, Seoul, is well within range of the North’s artillery.
[Featured Image by Evan Bucci/AP Images]
