McMaster: Potential for War With North Korea Grows Daily

He thinks China should get tougher
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 3, 2017 3:39 PM CST
McMaster: Potential for War With North Korea Grows Daily
In this undated photo provided on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a local tire factory in Chagang Province, North Korea.   (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Over two days, two sets of strong words about North Korea. During a Saturday speech in California, White House national security adviser HR McMaster said the possibility of war with the Hermit Kingdom is "increasing every day, which means that we are in a race, really, we are in a race to be able to solve this problem." And as far as problems go, he believes there are none bigger for the US, and there's "not much time left," per CNN. He called on China to step up to the plate and choke the flow of oil into North Korea, noting, "you can't shoot a missile without fuel." He specified that he and President Trump agree a total oil embargo would "be appropriate at this point." He reiterated the call for China to step up while appearing on Fox News Sunday, but added, "If necessary, the president and the United States will have to take care of it."

Sen. Lindsey Graham set his sights on North Korea, too, while appearing on CBS' Face the Nation Sunday, conveying his belief that it's time to pull the families of the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea out of the country, reports the AP. Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also noted he would press the Pentagon to refrain from sending dependents to South Korea going forward. "It's crazy to send spouses and children to South Korea, given the provocation of North Korea. South Korea should be an unaccompanied tour." Graham also expressed confidence in the Trump administration, saying the president has "the best national security team of anybody I have seen since I have been in Washington"; Graham has been in Congress since 1995.

(More North Korea stories.)

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