President Donald Trump is making South Koreans extremely worried. According to former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, South Koreans are more concerned about American president than they are about the increasing threat presented by their neighbor Kim Jong-un.
In an interview with ABC 7.30 , former Australian foreign minister said that even though Kim has successfully launched an ICBM that has landed in the Sea of Japan, South Koreans found the U.S. President more concerning. He added that even though Kim’s behavior towards the world is “idiosyncratic,” and his policies towards his own citizens are extremely “ugly,” but “I don’t think anybody thinks he’s nuts.”
Evans added that after looking at South Korea’s opinion polls, it looks clear that people from Seoul are more bothered about Donald Trump than they are about Kim and his recent threats. Evans believes that a deliberate nuclear strike by either the Washington or Pyongyang is highly unlikely, but he is worried about Trump’s respond in future if such tension rises from the Asian sub-continent.
“South Koreans are more worried about Donald Trump than they are about the North Koreans in terms of what might trigger an actual conflict in which they’d be caught up and devastated.”
Under Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship, North Korea fired ICBM and their officials called the test a successful one as it had the sharpest angle possible. Apparently, this was not for the first time when Kim has ordered to test his short-range and mid-range missiles after Donald Trump ordered the airstrike on Syrian airbase.
Trump mocked Kim Jong-un over Twitter after the launch, writing: “North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?”
Furthermore, North Korea’s supreme leader reportedly mocked the United States and allegedly said that the recent missile test was a gift to all the “American b******s” on their July 4 anniversary, as reported by Telegraph.
Despite the successful missile tests by the dictator that could reach mainland U.S. and Australia, Gareth stated that the bigger threat is not the conflicts between the two countries but it is a use of a nuclear weapon by accident.
“It’s sheer, dumb luck that we’ve managed to avoid a nuclear weapons Holocaust for the last 75 years,” he said. “It’s not because of anything inherently stable about the deterrent system, it’s not because of any inherent brilliance of the statesmanship of those with their fingers on these triggers, it’s sheer, dumb luck.”
Gareth acknowledged that deterrence, containment, and open negotiations are the best option to control the ongoing tensions between the Korean Peninsula with the rest of the world.
“It’s the only game in town,” he added.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s defense minister revealed that there is a high possibility of Kim conducting another nuclear test in the coming days. The Pentagon has stated that it is prepared to defend the country and its allies if a nuclear war breaks out between Washington and Pyongyang.
[Featured Image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
