US to press NKorea to return to talks, senators told at closed-door briefing

At a classified briefing on Wednesday for all 100 US senators, the Trump administration said that Washington seeks to pressure North Korea to return to the negotiating table in order to peacefully end Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but at the same time the US is ready to defend itself and its allies from the North. The briefing was given by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State James Mattis, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford.
Meanwhile, senior Pentagon officials said that the THAAD anti-missile system that the US deployed in South Korea during the day will be operational within a week to deal with North Korean threats.