A Tillerson Slip Offers a Peek Into Secret Planning on North Korea
- 6 years ago
A Tillerson Slip Offers a Peek Into Secret Planning on North Korea
He added, “We’ve had conversations with the Chinese about how might that be done.”
He repeated his past assurance that the administration was not seeking “regime collapse” or “an accelerated unification of the Korean Peninsula.”
“We do not seek a reason to send our own military forces north of the demilitarized zone,” the dividing line between North and South, he said.
“He would like the U. S. and Chinese military leaders to develop a plan for the safe disposition of North Korea’s nuclear weapons were the regime
to collapse.” He added: “While the secretary has never advocated for regime change, we all have an obligation to be prepared for any scenario.”
There is no indication that the Chinese have responded, or
that military officials have met — though Beijing would almost certainly keep that secret if it occurred.
In other words, the United States would essentially cede North Korean territory to the Chinese military, or let China
and South Korea figure out who would control 46,500 square miles of territory and take care of its 25 million occupants, many of whom already do not have enough to eat.
For years, American diplomats have been trying to engage their Chinese counterparts in a discussion of this scenario, hoping to avoid a conflict between arriving American Special Forces — who have been practicing this operation for years —
and the Chinese military, which would almost certainly pour over the border in a parallel effort.
He added, “We’ve had conversations with the Chinese about how might that be done.”
He repeated his past assurance that the administration was not seeking “regime collapse” or “an accelerated unification of the Korean Peninsula.”
“We do not seek a reason to send our own military forces north of the demilitarized zone,” the dividing line between North and South, he said.
“He would like the U. S. and Chinese military leaders to develop a plan for the safe disposition of North Korea’s nuclear weapons were the regime
to collapse.” He added: “While the secretary has never advocated for regime change, we all have an obligation to be prepared for any scenario.”
There is no indication that the Chinese have responded, or
that military officials have met — though Beijing would almost certainly keep that secret if it occurred.
In other words, the United States would essentially cede North Korean territory to the Chinese military, or let China
and South Korea figure out who would control 46,500 square miles of territory and take care of its 25 million occupants, many of whom already do not have enough to eat.
For years, American diplomats have been trying to engage their Chinese counterparts in a discussion of this scenario, hoping to avoid a conflict between arriving American Special Forces — who have been practicing this operation for years —
and the Chinese military, which would almost certainly pour over the border in a parallel effort.