New Member? Trump White House Considering Putting North Korea On State Sponsors Of Terrorism List

Well, the U.S. Senate’s field trip to the White House has concluded, with some members of the upper chamber of Congress a bit confused as to what they heard during their briefing about the situation in North Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs John Dunford delivered what’s been described as a “sober” briefing that “lacked straight answers. Yet, another tidbit from this whole issue is that the Trump White House maybe considering adding North Korea to the State Department’s state sponsors of terrorism list. If this happens, North Korea would be the newest member of the infamous club that also includes Syria, Iran, and Sudan. Roll Call added how military preparations are also being organized as we speak:

Trump has decided to pick and choose U.S. actions from a “broad range of options,” the senior official said. Which ones the president chooses — and when — will reflect “how the situation develops in the future.”

The official mentioned that just how the suddenly tense situation moves forward, and how successful allies — meaning: China — are in helping change Kim’s behavior will also play a role in the options Trump selects.

As for the military planning now underway, when pressed to elaborate, the official replied only: “I don’t think we’re going to describe those in any detail.”

[…]

In a joint statement, Secretary of State Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats did not explicitly point to possible military action. But it was implied.

They described North Korea as an “urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority,” supplanting the Islamic State.

“The president’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our allies and regional partners,” the trio said. But they also seemed to echo the official who briefed at the White House by not ruling anything out.

“The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” they wrote. “We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies.”

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