WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's U.N. ambassador told media on Sunday that the administration isn't changing its conditions regarding talks with North Korea amid growing tensions over the North's nuclear and missile programs.
Nikki Haley made clear that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would first need to stop weapons testing for a "significant amount of time."
Trump had said on Saturday that he was open to talking to Kim. It appeared to be a softening of rhetoric, given that Trump lectured Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last year that it would be a waste of time "trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," Trump's nickname for Kim.
But Haley insisted that Trump was reiterating his past position in his comments from Camp David over the weekend.
"There is no turnaround," she said. "What he has basically said is 'yes, there could be a time where we talk to North Korea, 'but a lot of things have to happen before that actually takes place. They have to stop testing. They have to be willing to talk about banning their nuclear weapons."
"It's a dangerous situation," Haley added.
In recent weeks, Trump and Kim have traded barbs about their arsenals and the "nuclear button" on their desks, raising fears the two countries could be drawing closer to war.
Trump's tweet about having a bigger nuclear button than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's has kept Kim "on his toes" and makes clear the risks of a nuclear standoff, Haley said.
After Kim asserted that he had a nuclear button at the ready, Trump last week dismissed the taunt by saying in a tweet that the U.S. button at his disposal was bigger and more powerful.
The comment drew criticism, including from former Vice President Joe Biden, who said it caused allies to lose confidence in Washington.
Asked on the ABC program "This Week" whether the president's tweet was a good idea, Haley said: "I think that (Trump) always has to keep Kim on his toes. It's very important that we don't ever let him get so arrogant that he doesn't realize the reality of what would happen if he started a nuclear war."
Haley said North Korea should be clear that the United States will not reduce pressure on Kim.
"We're not going to let them go and dramatize the fact that they have a button right on their desk and they can destroy America," she said. "We want to always remind them we can destroy you too, so be very cautious and careful with your words and what you do."
On Sunday, CIA Director Mike Pompeo stressed his view that an attack from North Korea was not imminent, though the North appeared to be a few months away from reaching the capability of putting a U.S. city at risk of a nuclear attack. Pompeo defended Trump's tweets as appropriate and "consistent" with U.S. goals of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
"The president has made very clear that were going to do everything we can to do that in a way that doesn't involve military action," Pompeo said, "but has equally made clear that we're not going to stand for allowing Kim Jong Un to hold Los Angeles, or Denver, or New York at risk." Pompeo was speaking on "Fox News Sunday" and CBS' "Face the Nation."
Trump's comments came as the first formal talks between North and South in more than two years are set to take place in a Korean border town Tuesday; the rivals are trying to find ways to cooperate on the Winter Olympics that begin next month in the South. Tensions are high because of the North's nuclear and missile programs.
Haley said it was her understanding that the two sides were limiting their talks to the Olympics, "but you know, those two countries have to get along."
"That's good for the United States that they can at least start getting back into talks," she said.
The Trump administration has agreed to delay joint military exercises with South Korea until after the Olympics.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis insisted the move was a practical necessity to accommodate the Olympics and was not a political gesture.
In recent months, the North has held multiple missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test — purportedly of a hydrogen bomb — in violation of UN resolutions banning such activity.
Nikki Haley made clear that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would first need to stop weapons testing for a "significant amount of time."
Trump had said on Saturday that he was open to talking to Kim. It appeared to be a softening of rhetoric, given that Trump lectured Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last year that it would be a waste of time "trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," Trump's nickname for Kim.
But Haley insisted that Trump was reiterating his past position in his comments from Camp David over the weekend.
"There is no turnaround," she said. "What he has basically said is 'yes, there could be a time where we talk to North Korea, 'but a lot of things have to happen before that actually takes place. They have to stop testing. They have to be willing to talk about banning their nuclear weapons."
"It's a dangerous situation," Haley added.
In recent weeks, Trump and Kim have traded barbs about their arsenals and the "nuclear button" on their desks, raising fears the two countries could be drawing closer to war.
Trump's tweet about having a bigger nuclear button than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's has kept Kim "on his toes" and makes clear the risks of a nuclear standoff, Haley said.
After Kim asserted that he had a nuclear button at the ready, Trump last week dismissed the taunt by saying in a tweet that the U.S. button at his disposal was bigger and more powerful.
The comment drew criticism, including from former Vice President Joe Biden, who said it caused allies to lose confidence in Washington.
Asked on the ABC program "This Week" whether the president's tweet was a good idea, Haley said: "I think that (Trump) always has to keep Kim on his toes. It's very important that we don't ever let him get so arrogant that he doesn't realize the reality of what would happen if he started a nuclear war."
Haley said North Korea should be clear that the United States will not reduce pressure on Kim.
"We're not going to let them go and dramatize the fact that they have a button right on their desk and they can destroy America," she said. "We want to always remind them we can destroy you too, so be very cautious and careful with your words and what you do."
On Sunday, CIA Director Mike Pompeo stressed his view that an attack from North Korea was not imminent, though the North appeared to be a few months away from reaching the capability of putting a U.S. city at risk of a nuclear attack. Pompeo defended Trump's tweets as appropriate and "consistent" with U.S. goals of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
"The president has made very clear that were going to do everything we can to do that in a way that doesn't involve military action," Pompeo said, "but has equally made clear that we're not going to stand for allowing Kim Jong Un to hold Los Angeles, or Denver, or New York at risk." Pompeo was speaking on "Fox News Sunday" and CBS' "Face the Nation."
Trump's comments came as the first formal talks between North and South in more than two years are set to take place in a Korean border town Tuesday; the rivals are trying to find ways to cooperate on the Winter Olympics that begin next month in the South. Tensions are high because of the North's nuclear and missile programs.
Haley said it was her understanding that the two sides were limiting their talks to the Olympics, "but you know, those two countries have to get along."
"That's good for the United States that they can at least start getting back into talks," she said.
The Trump administration has agreed to delay joint military exercises with South Korea until after the Olympics.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis insisted the move was a practical necessity to accommodate the Olympics and was not a political gesture.
In recent months, the North has held multiple missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test — purportedly of a hydrogen bomb — in violation of UN resolutions banning such activity.
