BBC Online :
US President Donald Trump has said he would like to solve the North Korea crisis diplomatically, but that a “major, major conflict” is possible.
China’s foreign minister called for negotiation and dialogue. The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss North Korea on Friday and will consider further measures to counter its nuclear and missile programmes.
The country has made several military shows of strength in recent weeks but a missile it was testing failed.
America sent warships to the region and began installing a controversial anti-missile system in South Korea earlier this week. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington would negotiate with North Korea with a view to removing nuclear weapons from the country, not changing the government.
He told NPR radio in the US: “We do not seek regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula. “We seek a denuclearised Korean peninsula – and that is entirely consistent with the objectives of others in the region as well.” North Korea has carried out repeated missile tests in recent months and is threatening to conduct its sixth nuclear test.
Mr Tillerson also indicated that he thought China, North Korea’s major ally, might be starting to see the regime as a “liability” or a security risk. “What China is beginning to re-evaluate is whether North Korea is any kind of an asset to them, or whether North Korea themselves and the regime have become a liability to China’s own security,” he said.
US President Donald Trump has said he would like to solve the North Korea crisis diplomatically, but that a “major, major conflict” is possible.
China’s foreign minister called for negotiation and dialogue. The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss North Korea on Friday and will consider further measures to counter its nuclear and missile programmes.
The country has made several military shows of strength in recent weeks but a missile it was testing failed.
America sent warships to the region and began installing a controversial anti-missile system in South Korea earlier this week. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington would negotiate with North Korea with a view to removing nuclear weapons from the country, not changing the government.
He told NPR radio in the US: “We do not seek regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula. “We seek a denuclearised Korean peninsula – and that is entirely consistent with the objectives of others in the region as well.” North Korea has carried out repeated missile tests in recent months and is threatening to conduct its sixth nuclear test.
Mr Tillerson also indicated that he thought China, North Korea’s major ally, might be starting to see the regime as a “liability” or a security risk. “What China is beginning to re-evaluate is whether North Korea is any kind of an asset to them, or whether North Korea themselves and the regime have become a liability to China’s own security,” he said.
