The Trump administration is applying a “peaceful pressure campaign” on North Korea, the heads of the Defense and State departments wrote in an op-ed on Sunday.
Lawmakers in both parties raised concerns that President Trump’s rhetoric on North Korea over the past week exacerbated an already delicate situation, and the op-ed appears to be an attempt to tamp down the heated rhetoric.
“While diplomacy is our preferred means of changing North Korea’s course of action, it is backed by military options,” wrote Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and State Department Secretary Rex Tillerson in the op-ed, which was published by The Wall Street Journal.
“The U.S. is willing to negotiate with Pyongyang,” they wrote.
The Trump administration’s approach, they argued, is a replacement for past administrations’ “failed policy of ‘strategic patience,’ which expedited the North Korean threat.” They call the approach “strategic accountability.”
The op-ed also emphasizes China’s role in pressuring North Korea to decelerate its nuclear program.
“Our diplomatic approach is shared by many nations supporting our goals, including China, which has dominant economic leverage over Pyongyang,” according to the op-ed. “This affords China an unparalleled opportunity to assert its influence with the regime.”
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Mattis and Tillerson break with Trump: We want "peaceful" negotiations with North Korea https://t.co/VjAznsdBtM pic.twitter.com/J7PH0IIdxc
— The Hill (@thehill) August 14, 2017
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