Northeast Asia

[U.S. military capabilities in the Pacific are] very imposing, very impressive [and are intended] to deter the North from any kind of potential actions. But if the North were to act, the U.S...would have to deploy far more to the peninsula and the region as quickly as possible.

[So far there have been no efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens living in South Korea.] That would be the clearest indication that we were headed toward war. And I don't think we are.

[On Sen. John McCain labeling Kim Jong Un as a 'crazy fat kid'] it is risky to view [North Korea and its leader] this way. I treat it seriously. It’s not a cartoon because of its increasing capabilities.

[People with military experience of Korea] paint a picture that should scare the hell out of anyone in the U.S. who was contemplating an attack. Are we over-estimating North Korea? I don’t want to find out.

This decision [banning American citizens from traveling to North Korea] is both appropriate and overdue. It's about protecting American lives ... I see extremely limited prospects under prevailing circumstances for any meaningful improvement in US-[North Korea] relations.