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Defense secretary quickly contradicts Trump over North Korea diplomacy
Source: The Guardian
Defense secretary quickly contradicts Trump over North Korea diplomacy
Minutes after president says ‘talking is not the answer’ to tensions with Pyongyang, James Mattis says diplomatic solutions never run out
Julian Borger in Washington
Wednesday 30 August 2017 19.33 BST
Donald Trump appeared to rule out contacts with the North Korean regime in the wake of its missile test over Japan on Wednesday, declaring: “Talking is not the answer.”
Minutes later, however, the defense secretary, James Mattis, flatly contradicted the president’s blanket statement, telling reporters: “We’re never out of diplomatic solutions.”
Such sharply conflicting statements have become a norm for the Trump administration, but it is unclear how they are being read by the regime in Pyongyang and US allies in the region.
Trump’s declaration, delivered as usual in the form of a tweet, appeared to reflect frustration that his threats of “fire and fury” against North Korea earlier this month had failed to deter it from carrying out missile tests. He had recently claimed, after a lull of more than three weeks in such tests, that Kim Jong-un “is starting to respect us”.
Kim, however, made it clear earlier on Wednesday that there would be more ballistic tests in the wake of Tuesday’s launch of an intermediate range missile, the first ballistic missile North Korea has fired over Japan. He described the test as a “meaningful prelude” to a well-advertised plan to send a salvo of similar missiles into the seas around the US territory of Guam.
-snip-
Minutes after president says ‘talking is not the answer’ to tensions with Pyongyang, James Mattis says diplomatic solutions never run out
Julian Borger in Washington
Wednesday 30 August 2017 19.33 BST
Donald Trump appeared to rule out contacts with the North Korean regime in the wake of its missile test over Japan on Wednesday, declaring: “Talking is not the answer.”
Minutes later, however, the defense secretary, James Mattis, flatly contradicted the president’s blanket statement, telling reporters: “We’re never out of diplomatic solutions.”
Such sharply conflicting statements have become a norm for the Trump administration, but it is unclear how they are being read by the regime in Pyongyang and US allies in the region.
Trump’s declaration, delivered as usual in the form of a tweet, appeared to reflect frustration that his threats of “fire and fury” against North Korea earlier this month had failed to deter it from carrying out missile tests. He had recently claimed, after a lull of more than three weeks in such tests, that Kim Jong-un “is starting to respect us”.
Kim, however, made it clear earlier on Wednesday that there would be more ballistic tests in the wake of Tuesday’s launch of an intermediate range missile, the first ballistic missile North Korea has fired over Japan. He described the test as a “meaningful prelude” to a well-advertised plan to send a salvo of similar missiles into the seas around the US territory of Guam.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/30/trump-north-korea-james-mattis-diplomacy
