North Korean Threats

There have been ongoing word of mouth confrontations between the US and North Korea for some time now and things only seem to be getting worse. President Trump has continued to make comments that have led the US to be a part of a war of words with the Kim regime in North Korea. There have also been numerous allegations and different threats (which mean capabilities and intentions to do harm, as learned in class) towards the US. And now, according to CNN, “North Korea says no diplomacy until it can hit US with missile”. According to this article on CNN.com a North Korean official stated that there is a development of long-ranging intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reach the East cost in the US. The official made it clear that North Korea is not interested in diplomacy with the US until it achieves that goal. There are two important points from this article that really got me thinking. The first one was more reassuring than the other which is that North Korea is not ruling out diplomacy, but before they can engage in diplomacy with the Trump administration, they want us to know that the DPRK has a reliable defensive and offensive capability to counter any aggression with the United States(CNN.com). Which really correlates to todays lecture when we talked about nuclear deterrence and how it means that we will retaliate against whoever attacks. What left me a little uneasy while reading this article was reading that White House chief of staff John Kelly said, “Americans should be concerned about North Korea’s ability to reach the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile. John Kelly also said that if the threat grows beyond where it is today then we should really hope that diplomacy works (CNN.com). 

Another serious threat was made towards the US territory of Guam last week by North Korea warning the United States that any “reckless moves” by the US would cause Pyongyang to take action. Back in August when Trump warned that they would “face fire and fury like the world has never seen” caused North Korea to examine a plant to target the island of Guam. This article correlated once more to our lecture in class today by explaining how the DPRK is trying to send a message to the Trump administration that “it possesses an effective nuclear deterrent” (CNN.com). This is a perfect example of what Professor Williams was explaining today about what a nuclear deterrent is. North Korea is warning the United States that if we attack them, they will retaliate. This war of words have raised fears of a possible war between the two countries. However, President Trump has said that we will do whatever is necessary to keep from any further threats from North Korea. Trump has also said, “We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation… We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening and it will be done if necessary, believe me.” (CNN.com).

It is undoubtedly worrisome to imagine a possible attack, especially a nuclear attack from North Korea. Learning in class today about just how powerful the nuclear weapons are that North Korea possesses is uneasy to think of. It also definitely seems that the idea of a security dilemma could be an issue. With the “worst-case scenario” actions we could potentially create an escalation of tensions and a heightened sense of threat from and with North Korea. Talk of a World War III is all over the news as well and the more I read and learn about what is happening in our world in regards to that possibility, the more interested and invested I am becoming in international relations. 

Source: CNN "North Korea rejects diplomacy with US for now, source says."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/16/politics/north-korea-negotiations-trump-tillerson/index.html