what we have found with our representatives and admiral littenfield that traveled to the regions, they came back very encouraged particularly from seoul and tokyo to pursue this on a trilateral basis. they came back and feeling this is a historic opportunity to work with the koreans and japanese on trilateral basis of national security. >> it's not increasing the forces? >> has never talked about adding additional personnel. we have a lot of personnel, i think 28,000 in south korea and also more in japan. and we have significance in those countrys and not to mention the rock forces and japanese forces. that as now is not a part of discussion. anything else on north korea? >> to what degree is the u.s. policy for north korea being held hostage to the fact that these two journalists are there and sentenced in hard labor? >> i don't get any sense that the policy is being held hostage by that unfortunate decision by the north koreans of the but -- koreans. but i haven't heard it enter into these calculations to proceed to the north. the state department his issued strong remarks of the gov