North Korea's Provocation Level Has Dimmed, U.S. Commander Says
North Korea's Provocation Level Has Dimmed, U.S. Commander Says
(Bloomberg) -- North Korea’s level of provocation toward the U.S. changed months before President Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un, said the commander of U.S. forces in Korea.
“We’ve gone now 235 days without a provocation, so we saw a big change occur after the 29th of November missile launch,” General Vincent Brooks, Commander, U.S. Forces Korea, said Saturday via video link to the Aspen Security Forum.
“Since that time, we’ve seen indeed, a change of at least the approach,” Brooks said. “To be sure, the physical threats and capabilities are still in place. But it’s evident through words and action that the intent to use them has changed.”
Brooks said the challenge now is to continue to make progress with North Korea, and said that the level of diplomacy is “like tulips blooming in the spring,” with abundant channels of communication now open on the Korean peninsula. Trump met North Korea’s leader in Singapore in June.
As posturing continues, there needs to be sufficient room for U.S. diplomats, especially Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, to maneuver toward the outcomes the U.S. wants to achieve, Brooks said. Other countries in the region will be maneuvering and posturing too, he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ros Krasny in Washington at rkrasny1@bloomberg.net;Alan Levin in Washington at alevin24@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Bernard Kohn, Colin Keatinge
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