protect their own interests and assure … not only to our South Korean ally, but to our other allies in the region, that we must make clear that these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously and we’ll respond to that.”
Hagel also defended the U.S. military’s decision to beef up missile defense in Alaska and California in light of Pyongyang’s recent provocations – even if North Korea doesn’t currently have the capability of striking the U.S.
CBS News correspondent Major 바카라사이트 Garrett notes that it’s not unusual for North Korea to threaten war when the U.S. and South Korea carry out joint training exercises, but the White House views Kim as an unpredictable figure.
“We don’t have any choice in defending this country but to anticipate worst case scenarios,” Hagel said. “These are decision-making processes that evolve based on threats — you only need to be wrong once.”
One sign this could all be North Korean bluster, Garrett reports, is that North Korea has kept open a key industrial park where hundreds of South Koreans do business every day and where global trade produces roughly $2 billion for the isolated nuclear power.
White House officials tell CBS News they’ve stepped up communication with South Korea as well as new governments in Japan and China, looking for allies throughout the region to tell the North it’s playing a perilous game.
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