Defense Secretary Mark Esper says U.S. forces in South Korea are on “a high state of readiness” over the possibility that North Korea will end its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests.
“It is a concern, their rhetoric,” Esper told reporters traveling with him as he returned to Washington from Europe. “We have seen talk of tests. I think that they will be likely if they don’t feel satisfied.”
“My role remains twofold: First of all, ensure that we are in a high state of readiness and we are working closely with our [South Korean] partners, and then secondly, help enable the diplomats,” he said, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon.
American and South Korean forces remain at a high state of readiness, Esper said, despite the cancellation of large-scale joint military exercises as a gesture of goodwill toward Kim Jong Un, who regularly denounces the drills as rehearsals for an invasion of the North.
“We do things at the tactical level, things at the operational level with our South Korean counterparts, we do it ourselves,” he said. “So, I’m confident.”
The United States says the exercises are purely defensive and designed as a deterrent.
North Korea recently tested a new rocket engine, which appears to be for long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that could target the United States. The Hermit Kingdom promised a “Christmas gift” for the U.S. if there are no breakthroughs in denuclearization talks, which have been stalled since last year.
[Read more: North Korea warns ‘erratic old man’ Trump that it has ‘nothing more to lose’]
“I’d be disappointed if something would be in the works, and if it is, we’ll take care of it,” President Trump said yesterday about the latest threats from North Korea. “We’re watching it very closely.”
“We need to get serious and sit down and have discussions about a political agreement that denuclearizes the peninsula,” Esper said. “I would like to remain optimistic that we can keep moving forward [with] negotiations because the alternative is not a positive one.”
Read more from our senior writer on defense and national security in today’s edition of Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense.
