'Washington's preemptive attacks against the North could be considered'

'Washington's preemptive attacks against the North could be considered'. October. 10, 2016 07:12. by 워싱턴=이승헌 특파원ddr@donga.com. A leading dove politician in the U.S., former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill who argued "sanctions over dialogues with North Korea," said that while the matter still remains a very sensitive issue, he fully understands (why such comments are being expressed) on the recent calls from Washington D.C. for preemptive strikes against North Korea. Hill's comments reflected the rising demand for tight measures against the North in the U.S., when Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine's commented during the TV debate on Oct. 4 that "a president should take (preemptive) action to defend the United States against imminent threats from North Korea," followed by Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

During his interview with the U.S.-owned broadcasting network Voice of America (VOA) on Saturday, Hill said that when North Korea completes building its maneuverable nuclear weapon and deploys at the (Dongchang-ri) launcher, the U.S. will not just sit idle so that the missiles are launched, and when such scenario becomes a reality, Washington may be faced with a fateful decision. He added that he fully understands former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen who recently mentioned a preemptive (military) measure, but what's important is that Washington hasn't reached to that point yet.

In an e-mail interview with the press, Hill also said that he is cautious about mentioning possible preemptive attacks against the North, as it will mean a potential war situation, adding that the preemptive strike is meant as a possible factor for consideration. The response came as an implication underlying that the preemptive strike should be considered as the "last resort" when an all-out sanctions on North Korea led by stronger cooperation with China and negotiations based on denuclearization fail.

On nuclear capabilities of North Korea, Hill explained that Pyongyang no longer conducts nuclear tests just to gain attention from the international society adding that the North is continuing the tests to complete designing nuclear weapons, which are deliverable.

On response to North Korean nuclear threats, Hill argued that the incoming U.S. administration should put higher priority on tackling North Korea's nuclear issues, adding that former U.S. administrations put more time on solving the Middle East instead of North Korea, but more weight should be put on North Korea, as it poses a more serious threat to the U.S. mainland compared to horrible issues in the Middle East.