WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. may need “more forceful ways” of dealing with North Korea if it develops an intercontinental ballistic missile that threatens America.
Kerry is urging Donald Trump‘s incoming administration to work closely with China, Pyongyang’s main trading partner, to exert economic pressure on North Korea. The aim should be resuming talks on denuclearization.
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But Kerry says if the North persists in developing the long-range missile, the U.S. may require “other ways, more forceful ways” to change the country’s calculus. He didn’t elaborate.
Kerry was speaking Tuesday at the U.S. Naval Academy.
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The Obama administration has cranked up sanctions on North Korea. They’ve failed, however, to stall the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.