As North Korea 'Sentences' Trump to 'Death,' the South Tells US: War 'Not On the Table'

Coming shortly on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump's 12-day tour of Asia, the government of South Korea has made it absolutely clear that the United States should not spark a unilateral military conflict in the Korean Peninsula.

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The warning was delivered by the chairwoman of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party, Choo Mi-ae.

"President Trump often emphasizes that he put all options on the table," Choo told a Washington think-tank. "We want to make sure that this option of another war is not placed on the table. Under no circumstances should the U.S. go ahead and use a military option without the consent of South Korea."

"We must seek a peaceful resolution of the matter in any manner that is available to us."

Choo, whose president and fellow Democratic Party leader Moon Jae-in has advocated dialogue and eventual peace with North Korea, reiterated that Seoul remains loyal to the Trump policy of pressuring Pyongyang through sanctions, as well as constructive talks.

The remarks by Choo, who is expected to meet Trump administration officials in Washington, underscored South Korean concerns that any U.S. strikes against North Korea's nuclear and missile programs could provoke devastating North Korean retaliation against South Korea.

The U.S. leader has previously called negotiations with North Korea a waste of time, signaling an erratic and ad-hoc style of dealing with the crisis. The former reality television host has offered no clear path to talks and has sent mixed signals about his interest in negotiations.

While Washington has not ruled out the eventual possibility of direct talks with the North to resolve the stand-off, Pyongyang says it won't hold talks until the White House drops its hostile stance and threats of potential nuclear attack.

Speaking on his return from Asia, Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had rejected a "freeze for freeze" agreement.

China and Russia have previously advocated such a plan, where the United States and South Korea stop major military exercises in exchange for North Korea halting its weapons programs. It was not clear if Trump understood that this was what he was referring to, or if Beijing has dropped its advocacy of the long-held position for solving the crisis.

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"We agreed that we would not accept a so-called 'freeze for freeze' agreement like those that have consistently failed in the past," Trump said. There was no immediate confirmation from China's embassy in Washington.

Beijing and Seoul have recently resolved a diplomatic row over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) advanced U.S. anti-missile system, which has been deployed in various locations across China. While the U.S. has claimed that THAAD is necessary to protect Seoul from North Korea, Beijing has seen the deployment as going far beyond South Korean defense needs, instead serving to boost U.S. capabilities for looking deep into Chinese territory while blunting China's “second-strike” capability in case of a nuclear confrontation with the U.S.

The compromise provides South Korean assurances to Beijing that there will be no further THAAD deployments in South Korea, no South Korean participation in a U.S.-led strategic missile defense system, and no creation of a trilateral alliance involving South Korea, Japan and the U.S. The stipulations were greeted coolly by U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who hinted at concerns regarding the potential decoupling of Seoul from the Washington-dominated Asia-Pacific U.S. security architecture, according to North Korean news monitor 38North.

Meanwhile, the official newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, Rodong Sinmun, responded to the the former Apprentice host's recent Twitter insults with a furious editorial lambasting the U.S. commander-in-chief as an “old slave of money” who "dared point an accusing finger at the sun … he is just a hideous criminal sentenced to death by the Korean people."

Continuing, Rodong Sinmun said that “as a symbol of wolf-like US imperialism (Trump is) a target of merciless retaliation" and the Korean people would "send him to the hell he likes so much to tout."  The editorial continued to pile insults on the "old lunatic, mean trickster and human reject" for his avoidance of the Demilitarized Zone separating the North and the South, which the U.S. leader claimed was made impossible by bad weather, calling the avoidance proof that Trump was "was just too scared to face the glaring eyes of our troops."

"The worst crime for which (Trump) can never be pardoned is that he dared (to) malignantly hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership ... He will be forced to pay dearly for his blasphemy any moment."