WASHINGTON ¨C U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday said the United States still sees a political agreement on denuclearization as the best path forward on North Korea, but that American forces remained prepared to fight if necessary.
¡°We would urge restraint by Kim Jong Un,¡± Esper said in an interview on Fox News.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said this week that there were no longer grounds for Pyongyang to be bound by a self-declared moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear bomb testing and that a ¡°new strategic weapon¡± would be introduced in the near future.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were no indications that North Korea was preparing for an imminent long-range missile test.
The official said the assessment after Kim¡¯s speech was that North Korea believes it does not have to rush to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, though shorter-range missile or engine tests could be possible at any time.
U.S. President Donald Trump ¡ª who in 2018 became the first American leader to meet with a North Korean leader ¡ª said after Kim¡¯s remarks that the North Korean leader had signed a denuclearization contract and Trump thought Kim was a ¡°man of his word.¡±
Last month, Pyongyang warned Washington of a possible ¡°Christmas gift¡± after Kim gave the United States until the end of the year to propose new concessions in talks over his country¡¯s nuclear arsenal.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said that the alert status of American forces was at a sufficient level to respond to anything that happens and military defensive capabilities were adequate to defend the United States.
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