Anonymous

“ I will say that, you know, the content of our diplomacy with North Korea we tend, at this juncture, to keep between us directly. I will underscore that we have taken efforts and we will continue to take efforts. And we believe that that such diplomacy — in close coordination with South Korea and Japan and, frankly, with China — is in the best interests of all those concerned. We don’t want a situation where it’s perceived that our door is not open to talk. ”

“ So, look, you know, we think, you know, the hope of diplomacy really rests on the reality of deterrence and our forward-deployed capabilities. And so, we thought that some of the efforts that were taken previously to turn off necessary exercises and the like were actually antithetical to our position as the keeper and the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.So I do believe that the United States is going to prepare to put a position out there for how to go forward with an engagement with North Korea. ”

“ I think we recognize that, you know, we are stronger if we approach these challenging issues in North Korea in partnership with Japan and South Korea.
I do just want to underscore here, quickly, before we get to questions: We are no — under no illusions about the difficulty this task presents to us. We have a long history of disappointment in diplomacy with North Korea. It’s defied expectations of Republican and Democratic administrations alike. We’ve had working groups. ”