This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/north-korea-donald-trump-nuclear-test-latest-war-general-mcmaster-ballistic-a7686296.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Top US security official says 'all options are on the table' when it comes to dealing with North Korea | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US National Security Advisor HR McMaster has claimed that “all options are on the table” when it comes to dealing with the threat of North Korea. | US National Security Advisor HR McMaster has claimed that “all options are on the table” when it comes to dealing with the threat of North Korea. |
| Responding to what is believed to be a failed ballistic missile test by the Asian nation in the early hours of Sunday, General McMaster said that the latest test "fits into a pattern of provocative and destabilising and threatening behaviour on the part of the North Korean regime" | Responding to what is believed to be a failed ballistic missile test by the Asian nation in the early hours of Sunday, General McMaster said that the latest test "fits into a pattern of provocative and destabilising and threatening behaviour on the part of the North Korean regime" |
| With US Vice President Mike Pence also touching down in Seoul in South Korea, it is clear that US officials are making a concerted diplomatic push to try and get the situation in North Korea under control and reassure allies in the region. | With US Vice President Mike Pence also touching down in Seoul in South Korea, it is clear that US officials are making a concerted diplomatic push to try and get the situation in North Korea under control and reassure allies in the region. |
| General McMaster was speaking from Afghanistan, where he was due to meet with Afghan officials in Kabul. That visit follows the use by the US military of the largest non-nuclear weapon they have ever dropped in combat, the so-called "mother of all bombs," which destroyed a network of tunnels used by Isis in Afghanistan | |
| Destroying Isis was the main foreign policy aim of US President Donald trump when he came into office earlier this year, but his administration now finds itself at the centre of a number of international crises, including the conflict in Syria, and new aggression from North Korea.This is seemingly at odds with Mr Trump's isolationist rhetoric on the campaign trail where he espoused a policy framework based on the slogan 'America First'. | |
| The chain of events that led to such frantic diplomatic efforts, began in Syria almost two weeks ago, when an apparent chemical gas attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun which killed dozens of civilians - eventually led to the US launching 59 missiles at a Syrian airbase. The US, along with the majority of the international community, blamed that attack on the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad althpugh the regime - and there main supporters Russia - have denied it. Mr Trump said that the attack "crossed many lines" and he could not stand by, a U-turn on the previous policy reiterated just days previously that Mr Assad was not the priority in Syria, the jihadis of Isis were. | |
| The US missile strike, which was labelled a "warning shot" against further use of chemical attacks by Mr Assad signalled Mr Trump may be willing to shed his isolationist policies when the need arose, despite it threatening to alienate his core support. The strike on Syria was followed by the use of the GBU-42 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb on Isis positions in Afghanistan, with the dropping of the weapon also likely a signal to North Korea - whose rhetoric over the threat of war in the Asia-Pacific region had itself been escalating. | |
| More follows... | More follows... |