Speaking to NBC News during his attendance of the Winter Olympics, Vice President Mike Pence wasn’t in a very diplomatic move, instead talking up his refusal to rule out military action against North Korea, and committing America’s allies to such an action, if deemed “necessary” by the US.
Pence insisted the US, Japan, and South Korea are all prepared to take “whatever action is necessary” with respect to North Korea, and made it pretty clear that this whatever was meant to refer to war.
Pence, after all, is demonstrably not willing to take any action, underscored by him being seated one row in front of North Korean officials at the Olympics and not saying anything to them.
The White House insists that Pence has declined South Korea’s suggestions to talk, and that North Korea similarly is opposed, but North Korea hasn’t made it clear publicly if that is the case, nor, indeed, shown such hostility toward the very notion of a handshake or a few words in passing.
For the Administration, after all, all options are always on the table only so long as one of those options isn’t the sort of diplomacy that might necessitate mutual concessions.to resolve a situation, instead of endless bellicose posturing.