President Elect Trump today declared “It won’t happen” in reference to North Korea’s continued attempts of developing a nuclear warhead capable of reaching the United States.
North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017
For years, North Korea’s leadership have dreamed of being a world player, and a world power. To that end, they have tested nuclear weapons in underground facilities, and have tested missiles capable of reaching more than 1,000 miles. While it will be some time before thy have a missile that can reach the mainland of the United States, their efforts have gone unchecked.
Under Bush and Obama administrations, no military action was taken against North Korea as they continued to develop their weapon systems. Economic sanctions were the tool of choice. Unfortunately, sanctions have had little to no effect on North Korean leadership. Some believed that China held the key to influencing North Korea, as China was just about the only country still engaged with them economically. It has since been divulged that Russia has been in negotiations to work on projects within North Korea and to provide energy resources to them.
North Korea has a history of issuing provocative threats to its nearby neighbors and to the US. Recently, North Korea said of Australia, “If Australia persists in following the US’ moves to isolate and stifle North Korea … this will be a suicidal act of coming within the range of the nuclear strike of the strategic force of North Korea.” While North Korea’s threats are nothing new, they certainly exemplify their inability to interact with other nations in a rational way. It’s this irrational behavior that concerns many analysts who wonder, just how unstable is the North Korean leadership? Currently, the greatest threat from North Korea is the unstable thinking and not their weapons. That could quickly change if development is allowed to continue.
President Trump has not announced a formal strategy to deal with the threat of a nuclear North Korea. Nor has he proposed any additional or sanctions. During Obama’s eight years in office, North Korea conducted eight missile tests and attempted four satellite launches. Trump has bragged that he is the ultimate deal maker. Can he make a deal with North Korea to stop the tests? Can he bring peace to the peninsula when other Presidents have failed, or will they continue to develop their weapons to the point of actually becoming a threat?
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