Though he doesn't foresee North Korea taking serious military action, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Pentagon has bolstered its missile defenses to be prepared.
South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo, (r.), shakes hands with his US counterpart, Gen. Martin Dempsey before their Military Committee Meeting between the US and South Korea at Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea in October 2011. The two had planned to meet in Washington on April 16, but tensions on the Korean Peninsula are so high that Jung cannot take a long trip away from South Korea.
Lee Jin-man/AP/File
EnlargeThe top US military officer said Sunday the Pentagon had bolstered its missile defenses and taken other steps because he "can't take the chance" that North Korea won't soon engage in some military action.
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Heightened tensions with North Korea led the United States to postpone congressional testimony by the chief US commander in South Korea and delay an intercontinental ballistic missile test from a West Coast base.
North Korea, after weeks of war threats and other efforts to punish South Korea and the US for joint military drills, has told other nations that it will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in the North's capital beginning Wednesday.
US Gen Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman who just wrapped up a visit to Afghanistan, was asked in an Associated Press interview whether he foresees North Korea taking military action soon.
"No, but I can't take the chance that it won't," he said, explaining why the Pentagon has strengthened missile defenses and made other decisions to combat the potential threat.
Dempsey said the US has been preparing for further provocations or action, "considering the risk that they may choose to do something" on one of two nationally important anniversaries in April ? the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung and the creation of the North Korean army.
US Gen. James Thurman, the commander of the 28,000 American troops in South Korea, will stay in Seoul as "a prudent measure" rather than travel to Washington to appear this coming week before congressional committees, Army Col. Amy Hannah said in an email Sunday to the AP.
Thurman has asked the Senate Armed Services Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense to excuse his absence until he can testify at a later date.
Dempsey said he had consulted with Thurman about the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Dempsey said both Thurman and South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Jung Seung-jo, decided it would be best for them to remain in Seoul rather than come to Washington. The Korean general had planned to meet with Dempsey, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, in mid-April for regular talks.
Dempsey said that instead of meeting in person with Thurman and Jung in Washington, they will consult together by video-teleconference.
The Pentagon has postponed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that was set for the coming week at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a senior defense official told the AP on Saturday.
The official said US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to put off the long-planned Minuteman 3 test until April because of concerns the launch could be misinterpreted and exacerbate the Korean crisis. Hagel made the decision Friday, the official said.
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