U. S. Reroutes Warships Toward Korean Peninsula in Show of Force -
By ERIC SCHMITTAPRIL 9, 2017
WASHINGTON — The commander of American forces in the Pacific has ordered an aircraft carrier
and several other warships toward the Korean Peninsula in a show of force by the Trump administration just days after North Korea tested another intermediate-range missile.
South Korean and American specialists said the missile tested on Wednesday, which the South Korean military said flew a mere 37 miles, was probably a
modified version of either the Scud-ER or Pukguksong-2, or perhaps a new missile — even an early version of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Speaking on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Mr. Tillerson expanded on what the rest of the world should take away from the missile strikes in Syria: “The message
that any nation can take is if you violate 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.”
Mr. Tillerson continued: “In terms of North Korea, we have been very clear that our objective is a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
The president has asked to be prepared to give him a full range of options to remove
that threat to the American people and to our allies and partners in the region.”
The White House said in a statement on Sunday that Mr. Trump had spoken to Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe of Japan the day before on many issues, including the North Korean nuclear threat.
