Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday denied a report that the U.S. has drawn up plans to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
George Stephanopoulos, the host of ABC’s “This Week,” asked the top U.S. diplomat if the Trump administration was considering a plot to remove the dictator from office as North Korea works to perfect its intercontinental missile system.
“I am aware of no such plans,” Tillerson responded. “We have no objective to change the regime in North Korea. That is not our objective and so the whole reasons underlying the development of a nuclear program in North Korea are simply not credible.”
The U.S. continues to monitor North Korea’s missile development program. Tillerson said if at any point U.S. experts judge that North Korea has perfected that missile system, development of a heightened response will take place.
Tillerson added that the U.S. missile launch against Syria’s air field last week should serve as a message to any nation, including North Korea, about the consequences for violating international norms.
“If you violate international agreements, if you fail to live up to commitments, if you become a threat to others, at some point a response is likely to be undertaken and I think in terms of North Korea, we’ve been very clear that our objective is a denuclearized Korea peninsula,” Tillerson said.
