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| Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr |
SINGAPORE — North Korea remains Washington’s “No. 1 security concern” in Asia, the US Pacific Fleet commander said Wednesday, despite simmering territorial disputes elsewhere in the region.
Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. also expressed concern over “coercion” by China in its maritime disputes with neighbors.
He said an increased deployment of US military assets in the region as part of an Asian rebalance announced in 2012 would ensure that “we are where it matters and when it matters.”
“Our number one security concern is North Korea,” Harris told reporters in Singapore on board the destroyer USS Spruance.
“I am concerned as a commander for the provocations that come from North Korea. I don’t understand them, I don’t understand their leadership and I don’t understand their intent,” he said.
Pyongyang last week warned of “calamities and disasters” if the United States and South Korea push ahead with a series of annual joint military drills from next month.
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