Story highlights
"We'd love to solve things diplomatically, but it's very difficult"
Trump had kind words for Chinese President Xi Jinping
CNN
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US President Donald Trump said Thursday not to discount the chance of a military conflict with North Korea even as his Secretary of State seemed to leave the door open for talks.
“There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea,” Trump told Reuters, amid an ongoing standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
He said he would prefer, however, to avoid conflict and peaceably achieve a non-nuclear North Korea.
“We’d love to solve things diplomatically, but it’s very difficult,” Trump said.
In an interview set to air Friday on NPR, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that direct talks with Pyongyang are “the way we would like to solve this.”
But he warned that North Korea “has to decide they’re ready to talk to us about the right agenda,” and that would not include pausing their nuclear program at its current level for a few years “and then resuming things.”
Tillerson will chair a special meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday to discuss North Korea, two days after a rare Senate briefing on the threats and possible action.
The US Congress is due to vote next week on a bill to authorize new sanctions against North Korea targeting the country’s shipping and financial sectors.
How the Kim dynasty has shaped North Korea
Euan Graham, an expert on North Korea at Australia’s Lowy Institute, said the messaging from Washington “is all over the shop.”
“We’ve seen a shift of 180 degrees from Vice President (Mike) Pence’s comments in Seoul, when he said there would be no negotiations with North Korea until they had denuclearized,” he said.
A joint statement Wednesday by Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said the administration’s approach aims to pressure North Korea by “tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our Allies and regional partners.”
Nick Bisley, an international relations expert at La Trobe University, said Washington is trying to “send a signal of toughness and resolve to Pyongyang while simultaneously holding open the door for negotiations and discussions.”
“The problem is the execution has been terrible,” he said.
He pointed to the large number of vacancies at the State Department as an explanation for the poor messaging, a situation that has concerned national security experts, frustrated lawmakers and confounded foreign diplomats.
Given the confused messaging coming out of Washington, John Delury, an expert on China-Korea relations at Seoul’s Yonsei University, said it remains to be seen if the Trump administration will be more proactive than its predecessors in pursuing diplomatic options.
“(Under Obama) they’d say the door was open but would never walk through it,” he said.
China pumps billions into North Korea
Both China and Russia this week pushed for greater dialog on the North Korea issue, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling for the resumption of six-party talks.
The talks – between the US, North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia and Japan – were intended to prevent the nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but they broke down in 2009 and multiple attempts to restart them have failed.
In the intervening years, North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests, including a purported hydrogen bomb test.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday that China’s thinking on North Korea matches “Russia’s relevant proposals” and praised the countries’ “comprehensive strategic partnership.”
As North Korea’s main ally, China is seen as vital to any settlement of the nuclear issue, and Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday.
“He certainly doesn’t want to see turmoil and death,” Trump said in the interview. “I know he would like to be able to do something, perhaps it’s possible that he can’t.”
Delury said Trump’s praise for Xi was double-sided. “It comes with pressure to do something about North Korea,” he said. “That if Xi doesn’t solve this then there’s going to be ‘major, major conflict.’”
As well as praising Xi, Trump had surprisingly empathetic words for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, noting that he took control of his country at an early age.
“He’s 27 years old. His father dies, took over a regime. So say what you want but that is not easy, especially at that age,” Trump said.
“I’m not giving him credit or not giving him credit, I’m just saying that’s a very hard thing to do. As to whether or not he’s rational, I have no opinion on it. I hope he’s rational.”
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
North Korean high school students play on a beach at Wonsan, on September 11, 2017.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Bartender at the Rainbow floating restaurant in Pyongyang on September 10.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Sunday afternoon row boats on the Taedong River, Pyongyang, beside Juche Tower. Taken on September 10.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Participation in mass celebrations is mandatory for those privileged citizens allowed to live in the capital, Pyongyang. Taken on September 9.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Pyongyang residents walk past a poster marking the 69th DPRK Foundation Day on September 9. It reads "Let the entire world look up to the great Kim Il Sung nation and Kim Jong Il Korea."
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
This statue in Samjiyon depicts North Korea's founding President Kim Il Sung when he was a guerrilla fighter against the Japanese. Taken on September 6.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The lobby of the CNN team's hotel in Samjiyon on September 5.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Justin Robertson/CNN
A bus driver who drives a Japanese vehicle over some of the bumpiest roads in North Korea. Taken on September 5.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Propaganda banners line the streets of Samjiyon on September 4.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Public transportation in rural North Korea, near the Chinese border, taken on September 4.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Justin Robertson/CNN
A young North Korean musician in the border town of Kaesong, taken on September 4. Music is a huge part of life in North Korea.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Justin Robertson/CNN
North Korean tour guide at Mt Paektu outside the alleged birth place of Kim Jong Il, on September 3. Kim is widely considered to have been born in Russia.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Housing units deep in rural North Korea, near the border with China, taken on September 3.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
A boy living in the mountainous northeastern border region on September 3, not far from North Korea's sixth nuclear test.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The view from the top of Mt Paektu on September 3, a sacred site to North Koreans close to the border with China. First time CNN has ever been allowed here.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The Mausoleum of Tangun is said to hold the remains of the ancient King Tangun -- widely considered a mythical figure.
North Korea built the pyramid in 1994 and has not allowed outside experts to verify the remains inside.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Sunset from inside Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on August 31.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The crowd applauds as North Korean TV airs footage of their latest missile launch outside Pyongyang Station on August 30, 2017.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The parents in North Korea of an inadvertent defector react to
a video message, shared by CNN's Will Ripley, from their daughter, who lives in South Korea and cannot return home. The family hasn't been together in years.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Justin Robinson/CNN
May Day celebrations are held on May 1 in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
A North Korean boy sits in his family's living room on April 30 in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Justin Robertson/CNN
North Koreans in Pyongyang celebrate the country's
85th annual Army Day on April 25. The holiday celebrates the founding of its army.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Justin Robertson/CNN
A North Korea veteran stands against the backdrop of the USS Pueblo, a US Navy ship that North Korea captured in 1968. CNN's Will Ripley asked this veteran about his thoughts on the USS Carl Vinson, an American aircraft carrier conducting joint drills with two Japanese destroyers in the western Pacific Ocean. The veteran told Ripley, "We can sink that aircraft carrier."
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Ripley noted that in Pyongyang, children are often seen dressed in bright, colorful clothing, contrasting with the more conservative and darker outfits worn by many adults.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Koreans celebrate the birthday of Kim Il Sung. He would have been 105.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
Tanks roll through Kim Il Sung Square on April 15.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Korean air force jets fly over the Pyongyang celebration.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears at a ceremony to formally open a housing development in Pyongyang on April 13. The project was rushed to completion in under a year, North Korean officials say.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Koreans gather to witness the opening of the Ryomyong Street housing development.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
Foreign journalists are filmed by North Korean media during the Ryomyong Street event.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
Soldiers leave the opening ceremony of the Ryomyong Street development.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
North Koreans observe a statue of their founder, Kim Il Sung, at the Museum of the Korean Revolution on April 10. CNN's Will Ripley said it was the first time CNN cameras had been allowed into the Pyongyang museum.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
North Koreans pose on April 9, for a photo at Mangyongdae, the birthplace of Kim Il Sung.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Boys in Pyongyang pose for a photo at a secondary school for orphans on February 19.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/ CNN
A tiger is seen at a zoo in Pyongyang on February 19. CNN's Will Ripley, Tim Schwarz and Justin Robertson were the only Western broadcasters reporting from North Korea after it conducted a ballistic missile test on February 12.
See their dispatches.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/CNN
CNN's Will Ripley posted this photo of the Pyongyang skyline on February 17. "Note the 105-story pyramid skyscraper, the Ryugyong Hotel. Work began in 1987. Still unfinished," Ripley said
in his Instagram post.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Wiill Ripley/CNN
North Korean soldiers ride on February 17, in a black Mercedes-Benz on the streets of Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
A 70-story apartment building undergoes construction on February 17.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley
The floating Rainbow Restaurant is seen in Pyongyang on February 17.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
North Korean soldiers watch fireworks on February 16, in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
People use smartphones on on February 16, to take photos of an ice sculpture in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Ellana Lee/CNN
A soldier stands guard in North Korea on February 16. While military service for women has long been voluntary, it reportedly was made mandatory recently in a bid to bolster the armed forces.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
A boy visits the Kimjongilia flower show on February 16. The red flowers are named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
University students dance in front of the Pyongyang indoor stadium on February 16.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwarz/CNN
Book titles are listed in English at a bookshop for tourists in the Yanggakdo Hotel in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Ice flows down the Taedong River in Pyongyang on February 16.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Soldiers pay respects to former North Korean leaders on February 15. The site is considered one of the most sacred in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Vendors sell flowers February 15 to mourners paying their respects to deceased leaders of North Korea.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Justin Robertson/CNN
The view over the frozen Taedong River shows residential areas of Pyongyang on February 15.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The symbol of North Korea's sole political party, the Korean Workers' Party, can be seen atop a government building in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Taxis are becoming more prevalent on the streets of Pyongyang. Most commuters still ride buses.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Tim Schwartz/CNN
Tour guides told CNN's crew that "in 1948, Kim Il Sung, his wife and his then 7-year-old son, Kim Jong Il, test fired North Korea's first domestically manufactured submachine gun,"
Tim Schwartz said on Instagram. The guides said that all three shot bullseyes at 50 meters.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The Man Gyong Dae School Children's Palace, shown in May 2016, is an after-school activity complex in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Young singers practice their performance at a "children's palace" in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Children play volleyball at an after-school center in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
An Olympic-sized swimming pool is a focal point of a "children's palace" after-school center in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Charlie Miller/CNN
Pyongyang prepares in 2016 for the
Workers' Party of Korea congress, the first such meeting since 1980. The event aimed to consolidate Kim Jong Un's power in the regime.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Charlie Miller/CNN
A train can be seen from the window of the Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Visitors to North Korea's Science and Technology Center use the tightly regulated North Korean intranet.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
A guide shows visitors a display in the North Korean Science and Technology Center.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Exhibits at the North Korean Science and Technology Center include this fighter jet.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/Instagram
Young members of North Korea's military ride artillery through Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
North Korean soldiers march below statues of North Korea's founding president Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Weapons are paraded through Pyongyang as a clear signal to the rest of the world that North Korea has military might.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Farm manager Kim Myong Jon is something of a celebrity in North Korea. During the past 40 years, she's met with all three North Korean leaders.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The farm where Kim Myong Jon works is home to one of North Korea's first greenhouses. It was first visited by Kim Il Sung more than three decades ago, and more recently by his grandson, current leader Kim Jong Un.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Chili peppers lie in the sun at the Jang Chon farm. Peppers are used for making kimchi, the fermented cabbage dish that is a staple of the North Korean diet.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
The futuristic space center is in a residential area not far from the center of Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
Will Ripley/CNN
Two officials walk in the grounds of the space facility. NADA officials told CNN that they had prepared multiple satellites and were in the "final stages of perfecting all operations."
Photos: Inside North Korea
Brad Olson/CNN
Hula hoop diplomacy at a North Korean dolphinarium
. CNN video journalist Brad Olson was called on stage to show how it's done."I managed to get three going, much to the delight of the crowd," he said.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
In May 2015, CNN was given rare access to a faculty apartment in an upscale area of Pyongyang, near Kim Il Sung University. The lounge was neat, if a little dated.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
This is the master bedroom of the three-bedroom apartment. A university professor lives in the home with his adult children. It's 200 square meters (about 2,150 square feet). That's large for an apartment in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
A flat-screen television sits prominently in the lounge.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
Books are neatly lined up above a desk in the study. There's a lamp for reading and a large padded chair.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
Every home in North Korea displays portraits of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Housing is assigned by the government and is free. Those who want to move have to sign up to exchange places with other citizens.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
The kitchen features a double sink and brushed metal counter tops.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
The kitchen is fitted with a Haier two-burner gas hob. Haier, based in Qingdao, China, is one of the world's biggest home appliance companies.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
First-graders in a Pyongyang classroom are orderly yet energetic, often standing and giving spirited answers to their teacher's questions.
Photos: Inside North Korea
will ripley/cnn
North Korean students watch riding lessons at a new equestrian center designed by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. The facility was formerly used for military training.
