Here’s a policy update on North Korea from the Trump administration.

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It's pretty significant that us secretary of state Rex Tillerson told folks earlier today at the Atlantic Council in Washington that the Trump administration is ready to sit down for talks with North Korea without pre-conditions. That’s a pretty important development because earlier, the secretary of state had said that it was open to talks with North Korea if they’re ready to talk about getting rid of their nuclear weapons program. - That is no longer the case. Secretary Tillerson said that they can talk about the weather, they can talk about the shape of the table. -That’s how he put it earlier today.

In the meantime, the US military preparedness is strong as the situation has prompted the president to order military planners to have a full range of contingencies available and they are already. This is in contrast with the Rand Report. U.S. will continue their diplomatic efforts until the first bomb drops.

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They’re looking forward to laying out a map, a road-map of what they might be willing to work towards, according to Tillerson.

In the past few months, the tension between North Korea and America has escalated to levels never experienced since the Korean War. This is due to multiple illegal North Korean ICBM and ballistic-missile tests, coupled with several bellicose statements from Pyongyang about striking Guam, other U.S. allies, and territories in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The US is willing to negotiate with Pyongyang. But given the long record of North Korea's dishonesty in negotiations and repeated violations of international agreements, it is incumbent upon the regime to signal its desire to negotiate in good faith. A sincere indication would be the immediate cessation of its provocative threats, nuclear tests, missile launches and other weapons tests," US Defense Secretary James Mattis and Tillerson said in a co-written opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal in August.

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North Korea’s missile program has progressed dramatically the beginning of the year.

Since February, the country has conducted 16 tests and fired 23 missiles further improving its technology after each launch.

Last month, during the early hours of November 29, their missiles flew farther and higher than any other previous tests. After a break of almost two months in testing, a missile landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Some have suspected that the U.S. has tried to halt or slow down the program using cyber methods. The tests were also thought to be timed for maximum political impact. A launch in May coincided with the One Belt One Road summit in Beijing which is a special activity for Chinese President Xi Jinping, and a launch in February happened when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting US President Donald Trump. The ICBM test conducted on July 4, coincided with the Independence Day in the US.

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However, it's proven hard to predict whether North Korea would actually launch an attack or not. A missile, topped with a nuclear warhead, capable of reaching the United States is apparently Pyongyang's ultimate goal. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho hinted at that possibility in September by saying that they're conducting an atmospheric nuclear test.
If North Korea were to successfully conduct a test including the firing of a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile and detonate it over the Pacific Ocean, that would prove that it is capable of such technologies.

The U.S. and the world are united in pursuit of a denuclearized Korea.

The diplomatic approach is shared by many nations, including U.S. allies. China, which has dominanted economic status over Pyongyang also supports this campaign. China is North Korea’s main commercial partner, a sole treaty ally, and neighbor. Chinese companies are, somehow, involved with about 90% of North Korean trade. This gives China a great, unmatched opportunity to influence the regime.

Recent statements by ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members, as well as other regional and global entities, have made clear that the international community has the same view about North Korea’s dangerous and provocative actions. We should all try to stop them. Pyongyang must stand down.

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