FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump refused to rule out military action against North Korea on Thursday [9-7-17], but he stopped short of answering a reporter’s question as to whether he would tolerate a nuclearized North Korean state if the threat were contained…
Continuing several months of rhetoric between the U.S. and North Korea over Pyongyang’s accelerating pace of weapons tests, the president told reporters that he would prefer a diplomatic solution to the prolonged impasse. Mr. Trump also noted that years of talks have done little to rein in North Korea.
‘Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable,’ Mr. Trump said when asked about a military confrontation. ‘But it’s something that certainly could happen.’ The president said if the U.S. is compelled to use military force, ‘it would be a very sad day for North Korea.’…
A senior administration official later advised ‘not to read too much into’ Mr. Trump’s refusal to say whether he would tolerate North Korea with nuclear weapons.”
-Eli Stokols and Felicia Schwartz, “Trump Won’t Rule Out Military Action on North Korea,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 7, 2017 08:26pm