The U.S. military continues its “maximum pressure campaign” in regard to North Korea, and U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula are “ready to fight tonight,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson said today.
Dana W. White confirmed Defence Secretary James N. Mattis spoke with President Donald J. Trump today, ahead of Trump announcing that he has terminated the planned June 12th summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
U.S. forces on the peninsula maintain their usual high state of vigilance, White and the director of the Joint Staff, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., told reporters in a news briefing.
“In terms of we are ready to fight tonight — that’s always been the case,” White said. “Our position has always been to support our diplomatic-led effort.”
North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, has proven to be unpredictable in the past, McKenzie said. U.S. forces, he added, are ready to respond quickly to anything that could happen. He described the stance as the “normal state of vigilance” of the United States.
“We maintain a very high state of vigilance in regard to the DPRK, and we will continue that going forward, to include our missile defense activities,” McKenzie said.
The general added the termination of the summit has not affected the military posture in any way. He further explained the recent budget will allow the military to address some readiness concerns, including the readiness of military forces that might be deployed in the event of operations on the Korean Peninsula.
What is it with this current US regime
Perhaps they should cut the rhetoric and concentrate on getting round the negotiating table.
While both Korean leaders are getting on like a house on fire and have met twice, Trump and co are messing it up at every turn with complete and utter amateur politics.
Denuclearisation . Its not just a case of the North getting rid of its weapons. The Norths position has always been that it wants denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsular. That would mean not just weapons off the peninsular but also systems capable of deploying and using nuclear weapons on the peninsular. No actual US weapons remain on the peninsular as the US withdrew its Artillery and B61s in the early 1990s. However the bases in Guam which can launch strategic nuclear capable bombers such as the B2 and B52H, remain in operation so it still means Korea is under the… Read more »
Trump and his way of working may not be to everyone’s taste, certainly not mine, but he keeps everyone on their toes. And there is still a very good chance that the Singapore meeting will go ahead in two weeks. What comes out at the end is anyone’s guess, but even if small steps are made towards denuclearisation it will be progress.
The big concern is the reaction of China. I suspect that they really don’t want a unified Korea, if you ally Korea with Japan you have a real headache for the Chinese, they have long memories.