US is not seeking regime change in N Korea: Tillerson

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(Asia Today Thursday 3 August 2017)

US is not seeking regime change in N Korea: Tillerson

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Published: 4:00 AM, August 3, 2017

WASHINGTON DC — United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has used his lengthiest enunciation of American foreign policy yet to reassure Kim Jong-un that the US is not seeking to topple North Korea’s supreme leader or his regime and that Washington would like to “sit down” for talks.

Mr Tillerson made the remarks on Tuesday in an unexpected and rare visit to reporters at the State Department. It comes after months of uncertainty over the direction of US foreign policy, rampant apparent contradictions with US President Donald Trump, and a holiday that had stoked rumours Mr Tillerson was considering resigning.

The former ExxonMobil chief made public the results of weeks of anguished strategising by US foreign policy thinkers advising the administration, while making clear that much of its foreign policy was still being formulated and articulated.

Senior defence and diplomatic officials have already said the US wants to avoid war with North Korea, given its likely devastating impact, but Mr Tillerson made public in the clearest terms yet what officials have been saying for months in private: That the US does not seek to topple Mr Kim or send US troops to invade.

Those statements will probably appeal to both Pyongyang and Beijing and bolster the US position.

“We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th Parallel,” said Mr Tillerson. “We are not your enemy ... but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us, and we have to respond. We hope that at some point they will begin to understand that and we would like to sit and have a dialogue with them.”

North Korea has topped Mr Tru-mp’s foreign policy agenda since the onset of his presidency, but the situation has fast approached crisis proportions after the regime tested its first two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month. Experts worry this development could put US territory in range of the nuclear weapons Pyongyang is also developing.

Efforts to stem Pyongyang’s nuclear programme through a combination of toughening and expanding economic sanctions, as well as pressure via China, have so far come to nought. China has instead backed a dual-track approach that would see North Korea and the US engage in face-to-face talks.

Mr Tillerson acknowledged the US policy of what he called “peaceful pressure” had so far yielded little success, but said it was the “appropriate” thing to try. He also said the US would engage in talks only if Pyongyang accepted de-nuclearisation as its goal, a condition that has proved an impossible hurdle to clear in the past.

While hawks advocate threatening Mr Kim’s existence as the only means to worry him enough to bring him to the negotiating table, Mr Tillerson appears to be calculating that the prospect of regime stability and long-term economic prosperity would be more alluring to the authoritarian leader.

In earlier apparent efforts to explore other avenues, Mr Trump has suggested he would “be honoured” to meet Mr Kim. Mr Trump has vacillated over the potential role of China, at times appearing to beseech it to handle North Korea — whose economy depends overwhelmingly on trade with Beijing — or expressing exasperation that it has not done enough.

But here, too, Mr Tillerson was more diplomatic. “We certainly don’t blame the Chinese for the situation in North Korea,” said Washington’s top diplomat. “Only the North Koreans are to blame for this situation. But we do believe China has a special and unique relationship, because of this significant economic activity, to influence the North Korean regime in ways that no one else can.”

Relations with China are “at a bit of a pivot point”, said Mr Tillerson, adding that he hoped they could deal with their emerging differences, including over North Korea, “in a way that does not lead to open conflict”.

Despite reports to the contrary, Mr Tillerson said he had a “good” and “open” relationship with Mr Trump, adding that the president called him late at night and on weekends. He acknowledged differences over policy, however, including the policy towards Iran, and the unexpected nature of Mr Trump’s tweets, which have sometimes contradicted Mr Tillerson’s statements. FINANCIAL TIMES