The secretary of state promised a “different approach” for U.S. policy towards North Korea. | AP Tillerson: Military action against North Korea is an option

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday that “all of the options are on the table,” including the use of military force, to deal with the threat of North Korea and its ever-escalating weapons program.

Tillerson, making his first trip to South Korea since taking over as America’s top diplomat, visited the demilitarized zone along the border with North Korea on Friday, according to the Associated Press. He said preemptive military action against North Korea, which recently conducted a ballistic missile test, could be necessary if the repressive regime’s weapons program rises to a level “that we believe requires action."


The secretary of state promised a “different approach” for U.S. policy towards North Korea but did not offer specifics of what that new direction might look like, perhaps following the lead of President Donald Trump, who has in the past expressed a preference for not tipping the nation’s hand in foreign or military policy situations.

Tillerson did offer a somewhat veiled criticism of past U.S. policy in the region, remarking that two decades of "diplomatic and other efforts" had been unsuccessful in halting North Korea’s nuclear program, which the secretary referred to as an “ever-escalating threat.”

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley echoed Tillerson's comments in an interview with Fox News on Friday morning. Calling North Korea the Trump administration's "number one priority" on foreign policy, she said the U.S. plans to go to both China and Russia to determine what pressures they have put, and are willing to put, on North Korea to halt its nuclear program.

"We need to see some pressure from them on North Korea, and then accordingly, based on what those two do, the United States will respond," Haley said.

Haley added that the administration plans to "go harder on China" than the Obama administration did.

"We're going to say, look, if you really are wanting to partner with us, if you really are wanting to stop the nuclear testing that's going on in North Korea, prove it," she said. "Don't just tell us you do — prove it. And it's got to be real proof, and we're going to go through and ask them to push towards sanctions and push towards talks with North Korea and tell them that we want them to stop. And based on their actions we will act accordingly."