Diplomacy downplay: Obama administration minimizes latest North Korean nuke threat

[Patricia M. McBride]

I think we are all watching this situation carefully. 

 

By Guy Taylor and Shaun Waterman

The Washington Times

Thursday, April 4, 2013

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The Obama administration appeared eager Thursday to downplay the North Korean military’s latest threat that it has the final authority to carry out “cutting-edge, smaller, lighter and diversified” nuclear strikes on the United States.

“This is just the latest in a long line of aggressive statements,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, who told reporters at Foggy Bottom that the recent tension between Washington and Pyongyang “does not need to get hotter.”

The remarks were the first public reaction from the Obama administration since Wednesday’s claim by the North Korean military that the “moment of explosion is approaching fast” with the possibility of war breaking out “today or tomorrow.”

The claims heightened concerns in Seoul on Thursday, where South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin reported that North Korea appeared to be moving an intermediate-range missile to a launch site on its east coast, possibly putting it in range of the U.S. island territory of Guam.

In remarks that dovetailed with those made by Ms. Nuland, however, Mr. Kim said the North Korean missile did not appear to be aimed at the United States, but likely was being prepared for some kind of test or show firing, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

He also said neither South Korean nor U.S. intelligence had seen the sort of rear echelon and logistic unit movements that would be expected if North Korea were truly gearing up for a full-scale invasion or assault on South Korea.

With North Korea having previously carried out missile test firings on dates of important domestic history, foreign policy analysts note the April 15 birthday of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung — grandfather of the nation’s 28-year-old current leader Kim Jong-un — is less than two weeks away.

In Washington, meanwhile, Ms. Nuland denied that the administration was intentionally softening its rhetoric toward North Korea on Thursday out of concern that statements made recently by senior officials — along with the Pentagon’s highly publicized movement of new U.S. military assets to the region — may have served to escalate the ongoing tensions

“I … reject the notion that there is a new tone one way or the other,” she said, adding that in light of the recent string of “bellicose threats” made by North Korea, the administration has had “to take it seriously.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney was similarly cautious, telling reporters Thursday afternoon on Air Force One that Mr. Obama and his national security team are closely monitoring the situation but not saying whether the missile maneuvers mean the U.S. now views the matter as anything more than an idle threat.

“Threats and provocative actions will not bring {North Korea] the security, international respect and economic development it seeks,” Mr. Carney said. “We continue to urge North Korean leadership to heed President Obama’s call to choose the path of peace.”

Mr. Carney also would not say whether Mr. Obama had plans to address the North Korean actions publicly, saying only that “I don’t have any scheduling announcements today.”

Obama administration officials consistently have blamed Pyongyang for stoking tensions in the region with talk of nuclear strikes, making it necessary for Washington to reassure allies in the region about the integrity of the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

“The moves that we have been making are designed to ensure and to reassure the American people and our allies that we can defend the United States, that we will and that we can defend our allies,” Ms. Nuland said Thursday. “So from that perspective, it was the ratcheting up of tensions on the [North Korean] side that caused us to need to shore up our own defense posture.”

One veteran analyst told The Washington Times, however, that North Korea’s leadership had only learned about the recent deployment of nuclear-capable American B-2 stealth bombers through reports in the news media, which were “very scary” for Pyongyang.

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