Admiral Harris seems to understand what the Kim regime’s ultimate goal of their nuclear weapon’s program is:
This file photo shows U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris. (Yonhap)
A top U.S. military commander said Wednesday he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is intent on reunifying the Korean Peninsula under a single, communist system.
Adm. Harry Harris, chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, told a congressional hearing he does not agree with the predominant view that Kim is pursuing nuclear-tipped missiles to safeguard his regime only.
Kim is “after reunification under a single, communist system,” Harris told the House Armed Services Committee, adding that is the “long view.”
The North Korean leader’s nuclear ambitions contribute to that view and help him blackmail countries such as South Korea and the U.S., the commander said. And Washington should continue to increase economic and diplomatic sanctions on Pyongyang under its “maximum pressure” campaign to persuade Kim to abandon his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. [Yonhap]
None of these attacks led to a retaliatory strike because of their conventional capabilities were an effective deterrent. So clearly there is more to why they want to develop nuclear weapons so aggressively. The theory that makes the most sense is that the true intention of their nuclear program is to separate the US from South Korea and then seek a confederation on North Korean terms.
I can’t remember anytime that USFK has hosted two combatant commanders as well as the commander of an extremely important Pentagon organization like the Missile Defense Agency:
Three top U.S. military commanders plan to issue a strong warning message to North Korea in a rare joint press availability here later Tuesday, officials said.
Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris, Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten and Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves are scheduled to hold a press conference at a local U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) base.
It’s quite unusual for the U.S. commanding generals serving abroad to gather in South Korea and release public statements together.
It apparently reflects Washington’s alertness against North Korea’s rapid development of nuclear bombs and missiles.
In July, the North successfully test-launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The U.S. intelligence community also believes the secretive communist nation has made significant progress in miniaturizing nuclear warheads.
The U.S. commanders are expected to stressed that a military option will be on the table as the last means to use in case of an eventual failure in efforts to resolve the North Korea issue via diplomacy, a defense source said. [Yonhap]
Anyone else remember anytime this many senior leaders have visited South Korea together?
The US military brass are definitely making their rounds through South Korea due to the ongoing tensions:
In this photo taken by the EPA on April 27, 2017, Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, testifies at the Senate Armed Forces Committee in Washington, D.C. (Yonhap)
The chief of the United States armed forces responsible for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region will visit South Korea to discuss various security issues surrounding the area, a Japanese newspaper reported Saturday.
Japan’s Asahi Shimbun said Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, will stay in South Korea from Sunday to Tuesday, and will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jeong Kyeong-doo.
Harris is also expected to inspect a joint South Korea-U.S. military drill called the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise that starts Monday and visit the southern port city of Busan, according to the newspaper. Ashai Shimbun added that Harris is also expected to request South Korea to fully complete the deployment of a U.S. missile shield called THAAD.
Harris’ visit is followed by Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had a two-day visit to South Korea earlier this week.
The newspaper also reported that U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), who is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee will also visit Seoul and ask the South Korean officials to take stricter measures against North Korea.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported that Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, will also visit South Korea and Japan later this month to discuss North Korea’s nuclear threats. [Yonhap]
Admiral Harris must be something right to have the Chinese this upset with him:
China urged the United States to sack the head of the U.S. Pacific Command in return for exerting more pressure on North Korea amid concerns over its growing nuclear and missile threats, a source close to U.S.-China ties said Saturday.
The Chinese leadership headed by President Xi Jinping made the request, through its ambassador in the United States, to dismiss Adm. Harry Harris, known as a hard-liner on China, including with respect to the South China Sea issue, the source said.
China’s envoy to the United States, Cui Tiankai, conveyed the request to the U.S. side, to coincide with the first face-to-face, two-day meeting between President Donald Trump and Xi in Florida from April 6, but the Trump administration likely rejected it, the source said. [Japan Times]
You can read more at the link, but this is probably directly related to Admiral Harris’ backing of the “freedom of navigation” patrols he continues in the South China Sea in response to China’s island building campaign there.
I thought this was a funny response from Bruce Klingner:
What really bothers me about this whole USS Carl Vinson story is why should the US Navy report to the media where their ships are at?:
The U.S. military’s top Pacific chief was in the hot seat Wednesday at a House hearing and took the blame for apparent miscommunication over the USS Carl Vinson carrier’s movements amid the rising tensions with North Korea.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said in an interview the military was sending “an armada” to the Korean Peninsula and reports at the time indicated the carrier strike group was led by the Vinson. But as tensions mounted with North Korea over the nuclear and ballistic-missile threat, it was learned last week from a New York Times story the Vinson was actually headed in another direction and not toward Korean waters.
“With regard to the Carl Vinson, that’s my fault on the confusion and I’ll take the hit for it,” Navy Adm. Harry Harris, the four-star commander of U.S. Pacific Command, testified at a hearing of the House Committee on Armed Services.
Harris explained that he made the decision to pull the aircraft carrier out of Singapore and cancel a port visit to Australia. He also ordered the carrier to proceed north. However, he said, he failed to communicate that adequately to the press. “So that is all on me.” [CNBC]
U.S. Pacific Command Commander Adm. Harry Harris says those who served during the attack on Pearl Harbor never failed to stand for the national anthem.
His remarks at today’s ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack generated a lengthy standing ovation from the crowd, with people whistling and hooting. Thousands gathered for the event, held on a pier across the harbor from where the USS Arizona sank during the 1941 attack.
“You can bet that the men and women we honor today — and those who died that fateful morning 75 years ago — never took a knee and never failed to stand whenever they heard our national anthem being played,” Harris said to nearly a minute of clapping, whistles and whoops.
“Hearing the words ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ means something special for every American, every day,” Harris added. “But today, on Dec. 7th, it takes on extraordinary significance, as we’re joined here in this hallowed place by World War II veterans and survivors of the attacks on military bases all across Oahu, including right here at Pearl Harbor.”
In recent months, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others have knelt through the national anthem to protest police brutality and the treatment of minorities, drawing criticism and acclaim alike. Athletes from many sports, from youth to professional levels, have followed Kaepernick’s lead.
Reached later, Pacific Command spokesman Robert Shuford said Harris’ comments “speak for themselves.” [Star Advertiser]
New U.S. Pacific Command head Adm. Harry Harris (L, front) and South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Choi Yun-hee (R, front) place a wreath in front of the wreckage of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek on South Korea’s west coast on June 10, 2015, as they pay tribute to the 46 South Korean sailors killed in the sinking of the country’s warship in 2010 by North Korea. (Yonhap)
The new PACOM commander is not mincing words about what he thinks of the Chinese land and maritime grabs in the South China Sea:
The newly promoted head of U.S. Pacific Command on Wednesday described China’s claims to a vast swathe of islands in the South China Sea as “preposterous.”
China’s disputed island claims was one of several challenges Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., said he would face as the new head of PACOM during his change-of-command ceremony, whose backdrop was the submerged USS Arizona Memorial.
At the same ceremony, Adm. Scott H. Swift assumed command of U.S. Pacific Fleet, which Harris had commanded since October 2013.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told the audience that the U.S. opposes any further work by China to militarize disputed islands in the South China Sea.
Harris projected a scrappy stance toward China in his remarks.
“So ladies and gentlemen, our president is crystal clear,” Harris said. “The U.S. will rebalance to the Pacific. Our joint forces will work closely with our allies and friends in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.”
And the greatest challenges those forces face, he said, are from North Korea, “with its quest for nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them intercontinentally,” China’s “preposterous claims to and land reclamation activities in the South China Sea,” and a “resurgent Russia” in the Pacific. [Stars & Stripes]
