Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump’s cabinet was not united in what approach the U.S. should take toward North Korea. While Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have advocated caution, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster — despite Kim Jong Un frequently saying he would only use nuclear weapons if he was attacked — was supposedly pushing for a “bloody nose” strike against North Korea that would “illustrate the high price the regime could pay for its behavior” without inciting a full-scale war between the two countries.
However, North and South Korea have had a series of diplomatic successes recently and are planning to hold talks soon. In a gesture of good will, North Korea will send a contingent to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Now, Trump has changed his tune (after South Korea’s president suggested that U.S. sanctions on North Korea are a reason for diplomacy efforts) and announced that no military action would occur while the two countries were holding talks. In a call to South Korean President Moon, Trump said that the U.S. would be open to talks with North Korea in the near future, too. Trump added that the report about a “bloody nose” attack against North Korea was “completely wrong.”
Trump also revealed that Vice President Mike Pence would be headed to South Korea in February in order to lead the U.S. delegation at the Winter Olympics.
(Via Yahoo! News)