By Yi Whan-woo
Officials from the Donald Trump administration are seemingly sending confusing signals about policies on North Korea.
Analysts said Tuesday this shows the Trump team is divided over how to reflect its strategy of "maximum pressure and engagement" in mapping out action plans on Pyongyang.
Others say President Trump is employing a "highly-sophisticated tactic of ambiguity."
Vice President Mike Pence, who wrapped up a three-day visit to South Korea, Tuesday, said, "All options are on the table to achieve the objectives and ensure the stability of the people of this country."
The remark was a repeat of the White House warning that military action against North Korea was also a possibility.
National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster had said in an ABC interview Sunday that "all of our options are on the table, undergoing refinement and further development."
Lack of details
Both Pence and McMaster did not elaborate further.
But some senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News, April 13, that the U.S. was "prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea" if there were convincing signs of a Pyongyang nuclear weapons test.
Amid public concern here over a possible pre-emptive attack on the North, McMaster added to the confusion as he told ABC: "It's time for us to undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully."
In addition, Washington has perplexed Seoul over the ongoing deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system here as several Trump officials showed differences concerning the schedule.
In a joint press conference with acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, Monday, Pence reaffirmed the Seoul-Washington commitment to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery.
"We will continue to deploy the THAAD missile defense system as a defensive measure," Pence said, referring to a joint commitment to install THAAD before the May 9 presidential election.
Pence's words were a reversal of a previous comment by a White House foreign policy advisor who accompanied him on his visit to the South.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the issue of completing the THAAD installation would be up to South Korea's next president, on his way to Seoul, Sunday.
"As in any government decision, it may slip a couple of weeks or months. It's moving, but candidly until they get a president...in the early part of May I think, it should be a decision for the next president," the official said.
Next move is unpredictable
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said such a series of comments were "proof of the Donald Trump administration's incomplete policies on North Korea."
"The U.S is still coordinating and fine-tuning its foreign strategies and that's probably why Trump's aides are not on the same page concerning certain issues," he said.
Yang speculated that the incomplete line-up of government officials could be another reason for a delay in fully developing foreign policies.
"I predict the U.S. will become consistent in its foreign policies by July at the earliest," he said.
Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University, disagreed.
"I think the Trump administration is perfectly clear on where it is headed regarding its maximum pressure and engagement policy," he said. "The U.S. goal is intended to make the North Korean leadership uneasy by making its next move unpredictable. It's a highly-sophisticated tactic of ambiguity."
Officials from the Donald Trump administration are seemingly sending confusing signals about policies on North Korea.
Analysts said Tuesday this shows the Trump team is divided over how to reflect its strategy of "maximum pressure and engagement" in mapping out action plans on Pyongyang.
Others say President Trump is employing a "highly-sophisticated tactic of ambiguity."
Vice President Mike Pence, who wrapped up a three-day visit to South Korea, Tuesday, said, "All options are on the table to achieve the objectives and ensure the stability of the people of this country."
The remark was a repeat of the White House warning that military action against North Korea was also a possibility.
National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster had said in an ABC interview Sunday that "all of our options are on the table, undergoing refinement and further development."
Lack of details
Both Pence and McMaster did not elaborate further.
But some senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News, April 13, that the U.S. was "prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea" if there were convincing signs of a Pyongyang nuclear weapons test.
Amid public concern here over a possible pre-emptive attack on the North, McMaster added to the confusion as he told ABC: "It's time for us to undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully."
In addition, Washington has perplexed Seoul over the ongoing deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system here as several Trump officials showed differences concerning the schedule.
In a joint press conference with acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, Monday, Pence reaffirmed the Seoul-Washington commitment to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery.
"We will continue to deploy the THAAD missile defense system as a defensive measure," Pence said, referring to a joint commitment to install THAAD before the May 9 presidential election.
Pence's words were a reversal of a previous comment by a White House foreign policy advisor who accompanied him on his visit to the South.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the issue of completing the THAAD installation would be up to South Korea's next president, on his way to Seoul, Sunday.
"As in any government decision, it may slip a couple of weeks or months. It's moving, but candidly until they get a president...in the early part of May I think, it should be a decision for the next president," the official said.
Next move is unpredictable
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said such a series of comments were "proof of the Donald Trump administration's incomplete policies on North Korea."
"The U.S is still coordinating and fine-tuning its foreign strategies and that's probably why Trump's aides are not on the same page concerning certain issues," he said.
Yang speculated that the incomplete line-up of government officials could be another reason for a delay in fully developing foreign policies.
"I predict the U.S. will become consistent in its foreign policies by July at the earliest," he said.
Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University, disagreed.
"I think the Trump administration is perfectly clear on where it is headed regarding its maximum pressure and engagement policy," he said. "The U.S. goal is intended to make the North Korean leadership uneasy by making its next move unpredictable. It's a highly-sophisticated tactic of ambiguity."
