Don’t be confused by Trump’s mixed messages, US approach to North Korea is coherent ... but scary

While reports surface claiming that Washington is planning a surgical strike on Kim Jong-un’s regime, the US president says he is still open to talks

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US President Donald Trump’s mixed messages to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are not by chance, the US has a coherent carrot-and-stick plan to try to deal with the issue. But it could risk many lives in South Korea. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 6:33pm, 12 Jan 2018Updated: 9:00pm, 12 Jan 2018

As the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme has intensified, the focus of many outsiders has shifted from the country’s leader – often and inaccurately described as crazy – to US policy on the issue.

In recent days there have been reports suggesting the US might attempt to solve the crisis through military means. Last month, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported the Trump administration was considering a surgical strike on North Korea’s nuclear or missile infrastructure. A Wall Street Journal story on December 9 made the same claim.

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Simultaneously, however, US President Donald Trump has said he welcomes talks with North Korea to settle the problem peacefully. According to a South Korean press report, Trump said The Wall Street Journal report was “completely wrong” during his telephone conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Within the last week, Trump has said “talks are a good thing!”, “I always believe in talking”, and he would be “absolutely” willing to talk to the North’s leader Kim Jong-un. Trump’s White House office said the American president favours such talks “at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances”.

Kim Jong-un has continued the country’s nuclear weapons programme despite a relentless effort by the US to keep the reclusive nation from achieving nuclear capabilities. Photo: Reuters

This may seem a confusing set of mixed signals but there is more coherence than meets the eye if we understand the bigger picture. Going back to the 1990s and even earlier, the essence of US policy toward North Korea can be explained by three fundamentals.