With tensions between the U.S. and North Korea at an all-time high, fears about the possible outbreak of World War 3 continue to escalate. President Donald Trump shows no signs of wishing to defuse the war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. By firing off three ballistic missiles on Monday, one which flew over Japan, North Korea also showed that it has no intention of backing down. Just minutes ago President Trump took to his personal Twitter account to claim that North Korea has been extorting money from the U.S. for 25 years, and more worryingly, Trump suggested that the time for talking is over.
If Trump is ruling out talking to North Korea, then where does that leave the world? Does this mean that World War 3 is imminent?
British politician, and former leader of the governing Conservative party, William Hague suggests that the U.S. should prepare for World War 3. According to the Daily Express , Mr. Hague, says that the U.S. should be “ready for anything” and warned that war on the Korean peninsula would cost millions of lives .
“A war on the Korean peninsula could result in millions of deaths, it could be the worst event in the world since the Second World War so we have to be strong and show that North Korea would come up against overwhelming military might if it did venture into a war but a military solution is unlikely.”
Hague also suggested that the U.K. is unlikely to have a major role to play in any military solution to the Korean crisis.
The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2017
Could Europe Take North Korea’s Side In World War 3?
Donald Trump would be likely to call upon NATO to back him in any conflict, should World War 3 happen, but can the President really rely on the support of Europe? Hague is not the first European leader to suggest that support for action against North Korea might not be forthcoming.
According to Live Trading News reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Germany will not “automatically” support the U.S. in the event of World War 3. Chancellor Merkel insists that “diplomatic means have not been utilized in full,” and states that “an escalation of rhetoric is the wrong answer” if the North Korean crisis is to be resolved peacefully. President Trump’s latest Twitter message appears to rule out Merkel’s favored option.
Of course, despite suggestions to the contrary, this does not mean that Germany will take sides against the U.S., but it may mean that European countries want to stay out of World War 3.
North Korea’s latest missile launch comes just days after the despot state made direct threats to the U.S. territory of Guam. According to the Daily Star , the North Korean’s actions, firing a missile over Japan was a “massive provocation,” and a response to joint exercises between U.S. and South Korean troops.
Whilst there is nothing to suggest that World War 3 is imminent Donald Trump’s latest message may suggest that time for a peaceful solution to the North Korea crisis is ebbing away.
[Featured Image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
