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President Donald Trump said the United States is “willing to go either way” in response to North Korea's development of nuclear-tipped missiles, adding “hopefully it’s going to be the proper way." The president’s comments came after South Korea said Tuesday the North is willing to start talks with the United States about giving up its nuclear weapons. Trump's latest remarks on North Korea stand in stark contrast to his previous threat to respond with "fire and fury" to Pyongyang's development of weapons of mass destruction. “We cannot let that situation fester,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office where he was hosting Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. “It would be a great thing for the world” if the current dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang defuses tensions on the Korean peninsula, Trump said. He also cautioned that the inter-Korean talks “may carry over, it may not,” while noting that “it’s a very tenuous situation.” A senior U.S. official said the Trump administration is open-minded but skeptical about Pyongyang’s intentions, noting North Korea has a 27-year track record of breaking “every agreement that they’ve ever made with the United States and the international community.” North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, "shows no interest in walking away from his nuclear or ballistic missile programs," Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. "Additional missile launches are a near certainty, and further nuclear tests are possible.” | 
