McMaster: US Prefers Action ‘Short Of A Military Option’ In North Korea Response

Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster listens as President Donald Trump makes the announcement at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. McMaster will be the new national security adviser. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2017 file photo, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster listens as President Donald Trump makes the announcement at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.,that McMaster will be the new national se... FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2017 file photo, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster listens as President Donald Trump makes the announcement at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.,that McMaster will be the new national security adviser. McMaster’s “Dereliction of Duty,” first published in 1997, was No. 1 on Amazon.com as of Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. The book’s popularity soared after McMaster was chosen Monday by President Donald Trump to replace Michael Flynn, who departed amid questions about contacts he had with the Russian ambassador. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) MORE LESS
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National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Sunday said that President Donald Trump’s administration would prefer “to take action short of armed conflict” in response to North Korea’s military actions.

McMaster said on ABC’s “This Week” that the United States is considering “a range of options” but would prefer to “avoid the worst.”

A North Korean missile exploded on Sunday during launch, according to U.S. and South Korean officials. Vice President Mike Pence described the failed launch as as a “provocation.”

McMaster said the launch “fits a pattern of provocative and destabilizing and threatening behavior” on North Korea’s part.

He said that the U.S. is working to “undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully.”

“The President has made clear that he will not accept the United States and its allies and partners in the region being under threat from this hostile regime with nuclear weapons,” McMaster said. “This is a situation that just can’t continue.”

Trump’s administration on Friday announced a strategy based on “maximum pressure and engagement” in response to North Korea’s actions.

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Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for pshah pshah says:

    So I take it Trump has backed off from his position that South Korea and Japan should get their own nukes?

    Who could have known this issue is so complex?

  2. Some foreign policy experts on Twitter were saying that Trump’s policy is identical to W’s, just re-branded with a new name.
    W. gave us the first nuclear test, so we know how well that works.

  3. Shorter Trump: You have to be an idiot to think a Military response to North Korea. We should always think of negotiations and sanctions first.

  4. President Donald Trump’s administration would prefer "to take action short of armed conflict”.

    So we’ve finally reached the point where what once was taken for granted as mere sanity…

    Now passes for breaking news.

    Please. Make. It. Stop.

  5. Tweet bluffs. Spray tan. Glare menacingly.

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