United States Secretary of State John Kerry rejected any notion of an all-out war on the Korean peninsula, saying talk of "Armageddon" was the wrong premise.
| Secretary of State John Kerry. |
"Kim Jong Un has to know he's not in the position of attacking this alliance," Kerry said in an interview in Toyko with ABC News as he wrapped up his trip to the region. "That would be a very short-lived effort and a very tragic one."
He called on North Korea to make "meaningful steps" towards de-nuclearization, as the nation celebrated the 101st birthday of its founder Kim Il-Sung.
The U.S., he said, would be prepared to go back to the negotiating table with Pyongyang, if leader Kim Jong-Un "stripped down" his country's enrichment and production facilities and vowed to become a non-nuclear state.
"If they indicate their commitment to move to de-nuclearization and they do so by stopping where they are now with respect to this testing and this provocative series of nuclearizing efforts, hopefully we can get into some serious negotiation," Kerry said.
There was no sign that the reclusive nation would respond. The government there brushed aside a similar offer from South Korean leaders as a "cunning ploy."
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