Advertisement
Advertisement
North Korea nuclear crisis
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, warned that North Korea’s nuclear missile programme is a ‘recipe for disaster’ during a speech in Singapore. Photo: Agence France-Presse

‘I must imagine the unimagined’: US military commander warns North Korea’s nuclear warheads are ‘a recipe for disaster’

Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, spoke in Singapore amid signs that Kim Jong-un is preparing more missile tests

The top US military commander in the Pacific warned that the situation in North Korea is a “recipe for disaster” weeks before Donald Trump makes his first visit to the region as president.

Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, said in a speech on Tuesday in Singapore that China must do more to build pressure on North Korea. The US government will continue to be presented with military options, he said.

“Combining nuclear warheads with ballistic missiles in the hands of a volatile leader, Kim Jong-un, is a recipe for disaster,” Harris said. “Many people have thought about military options being unimaginable regarding North Korea. Folks, I must imagine the unimagined.”

Harris’s remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies event came amid increasing sabre-rattling between the Trump administration and North Korea. There have been signs that Kim’s regime is preparing more missile tests as the US and its ally, South Korea, conduct joint drills.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Recent reports from South Korean media suggested that the North was preparing for further missile tests. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Trump’s effort to halt North Korea’s drive to build a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the continental US is expected to be a topic of contention when the president makes his first swing through the region from November 3 to 14. His stops include Japan, South Korea and China, which the US has accused of enabling Kim’s government with economic and political support.

The marine exercises, including the supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan, started on Monday and will continue until Friday on both sides of the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean media reported over the weekend that North Korean “transporter erector launchers” had been observed carrying ballistic missiles near Pyongyang and North Pyongan province.

Tensions often rise around such drills, which North Korea views as rehearsals for invasion. The country’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kim In-ryong, warned on Monday that nuclear war “may break out any moment”.

North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3, and has launched more than a dozen rockets this year, including two intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach as far as the US east coast. The country views the weapons as a way to deter an eventual US attack that could topple the regime, such as in Iraq and Libya.

Japanese Vice-Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama arrives in Seoul ahead of talks with the US on the threat from North Korea. Photo: Kyodo
US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan arrives in Seoul ahead of talks with Japan on the threat from North Korea. Photo: Kyodo

Separately on Tuesday, US and Japanese diplomats agreed to maximise pressure on North Korea to resolve tensions over its nuclear programme, while also citing the need to be prepared for the worst if diplomacy fails.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Shinsuke Sugiyama, said the State Department was still focused on diplomacy to resolve the problem and to eventually denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

“We must, however, with our allies in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst should diplomacy fail,” he said.

Sugiyama reiterated Japan’s support for President Donald Trump’s policy of keeping all options open, but stressed the need for a diplomatic solution by bolstering cooperation among Japan, US and South Korea, as well as via cooperation with China and Russia.

The two diplomats will join their South Korean counterpart in Seoul for further talks on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

Post