USA VS. North Korea: Is President Trump’s Administration Entering Its End Game?
Since Donald Trump became President of the United States, North Korea has become a thorn in his side. President Trump and the international community are determined to see a halt to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. North Korea has responded by conducting missile tests and nuclear tests. North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has said that his nuclear program will continue until he has the means to deliver a nuclear warhead to the U.S. mainland. Trump has responded by threatening to “totally destroy” the hermit nation.
North Korea’s missile tests, and President Trump’s response to those tests, have prompted fears that the world could be plunged into a nuclear World War 3. As reported by the Inquisitr, earlier this week North Korea conducted another missile test, and they claim that this test shows that they can now directly attack the United States.
Perhaps predictably, the latest missile tests have predicated a furious response in Washington. President Trump took to Twitter to say that the situation in North Korea “will be handled,” and Senator Lindsey Graham indicated that the U.S. is “headed to war.”
As reported by NBC News, matters took another dramatic turn yesterday when ambassador Nikki Haley told the United Nations Security Council that the U.S. would “utterly destroy” North Korea if war comes. Haley warned that if war does come it will be as a result of “continued acts of aggression” by North Korea.
President Trump has long argued that China has a key role to play in reducing the threat posed by the North Korean weapons program. After his recent 12-day tour of Asia, President Trump celebrated the fact that he had convinced Chinese leader Xi Jinping to send a high-level delegation to North Korea, presumably to pressurize Kim Jong-un into acceding to international demands.
China did indeed send a delegation to North Korea, but the mission failed when Kim Jong-un refused to meet with the Chinese envoy. China is North Korea’s major trading partner and only real ally, so if Kim Jong-un won’t even talk to them, what chance is there that they will listen to Donald Trump?
As reported by the BBC, one must consider the North Korean perspective if there is to be a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the Trump administration and North Korea. They argue that Donald Trump’s bellicose rhetoric serves only to bolster North Korea’s resolve in the face of aggression by “the U.S. imperialists.”
Just spoke to President XI JINPING of China concerning the provocative actions of North Korea. Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2017
The New York Times argues that the Trump administration is employing a “cold war strategy” against North Korea. For that strategy to be effective they argue that Trump has to convince North Korea that he is willing to go to war to protect U.S. interests. If Trump’s strategy is to be successful he needs to find a way to convince North Korea to totally disarm its nuclear capability. With China favoring a “freeze for freeze” agreement that goal may not be achievable, Trump has already ruled out such an agreement.
North Korea’s latest missile test and Kim Jong-un’s determination to be able to mount a nuclear attack on the U.S. mainland, show that North Korea has no intention of bowing to pressure from Trump. With neither President Trump nor Kim Jong-un willing to take a backward step, there is a very real possibility that force of arms will be the only solution. A war between the U.S. and North Korea risks an escalation of hostilities and could be the spark that ignites a nuclear World War 3.
