Washington: North Korea is not an imminent threat

Washington: North Korea is not an imminent threat


The world  August 10, 2017 




SNG - US Secretary of State Rex Talerson said North Korea posed no imminent danger, although Pyongyang said it was considering attacks on the US island of Guam in the Pacific.
Tillerson, who traveled to Guam, defended US President Donald Trump, who threatened North Korea with "fire and anger."
Trump boasts the United States nuclear arsenal on Twitter.
In Twitter tweets from New Jersey, where he spends his holiday, Trump said the US nuclear arsenal was "stronger than ever," but added he hoped "never to use it."
The tweets came after an escalating tone between the two sides. The focus of the militant rhetoric was Guam Island, home to US military bases with a population of about 163,000.
Tillerson, who stopped in Guam to fuel his plane after a trip to Southeast Asia, said he hoped the international "lobbying campaign," involving Russia and China, would lead to a new dialogue with Pyongyang on "a new future."
Tillerson defended the former Trump tone, saying that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not understand the language of diplomacy, and that it required strong language to be understood.
He added that the situation had not changed significantly in the past few days, and that Americans could "enjoy a quiet sleep."
In a military statement released on Tuesday, the official Korean news agency said Pyongyang was considering a plan to launch medium to long-range missiles toward Guam, where Washington is deploying strategic bombers.
Russia and China have used different means than others in dealing with Pyongyang. In recent months, however, they have joined calls to urge North Korea to halt missile tests, while urging the United States and South Korea to halt their military maneuvers and withdraw anti-missile systems in the south.
The United Nations recently approved more economic sanctions against North Korea, calling it a "violent violation of our sovereignty", warning the United States that it would "pay for it."
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In a letter to the public, the Governor of Guam, Eide Paza Galvo, said there was "no threat" to the island and the Marianas archipelago, but that Guam was "ready for any emergency".
Pyongyang, which tested five nuclear devices five times, launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and said it now had the ability to hit the heart of the United States.
On Tuesday, US media reports said North Korea had achieved its goal of producing a nuclear warhead small enough to be loaded into its missiles.
Although not confirmed, it is seen as the last obstacle to Korea becoming a state armed with full nuclear weapons.
Pyongyang's response came sharply after new UN sanctions on Saturday, in an effort to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear ambitions.
The sanctions aim to limit North Korea's export revenues, which it sells through a third party.
North Korea's official news agency said Pyongyang would take revenge and make "the United States pay the price" for the new sanctions.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Foreign Office said it would "continue to work with the United States and our international partners to maintain pressure on North Korea."
A spokesman for the ministry said: "We have consistently condemned North Korea's behavior that undermines stability and Support for Security Council resolutions, for example, to pass sanctions that would limit North Korea's ability to pursue its nuclear weapons program. "
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Germany was monitoring the situation "with great concern" and called on all parties to exercise restraint. "We have consistently condemned the behavior of North Korea, which undermines the pillars of stability and illegal, through the support of Security Council resolutions, for example, to adopt sanctions that would limit North Korea's ability to pursue its nuclear weapons program." A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Germany was monitoring the situation "with great concern" and called on all parties to exercise restraint. "We have consistently condemned the behavior of North Korea, which undermines the pillars of stability and illegal, through the support of Security Council resolutions, for example, to adopt sanctions that would limit North Korea's ability to pursue its nuclear weapons program." A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Germany was monitoring the situation "with great concern" and called on all parties to exercise restraint.

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