Seoul wants to avoid war while US keeps door open to military engagement
President Moon Jae-in says South Korea effectively has a veto over US military action in response to the North’s nuclear and missile programmes
Seoul/Beijing — While South Korean President Moon Jae-in continues to try to lower the temperature on the Korean peninsula, the US is keeping the door open to a military engagement over North Korea’s missile testing. Moon said on Thursday that Seoul effectively had a veto over US military action in response to the North’s nuclear and missile programmes, and promised to "prevent war at all costs". In Beijing, meanwhile, Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that dialling back military exercises was not currently on the negotiating table with North Korea. Dunford said on Thursday that a peaceful option was the preferred solution, but nobody thought economic pressure alone could result in denuclearisation. Tension on the peninsula has soared in recent months, with Pyongyang carrying out its first successful tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), bringing much of the US within range. Last week it threatened to send a salvo of rockets towards the ...
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