Trump’s Reckless Hostility Toward North Korea

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home – Stephen Lendman). Contact at [email protected].

Engaging North Korea diplomatically is the only responsible option, the only one able to work, the only sound policy Trump administration officials reject.

Washington bears full responsibility for heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, not Pyongyang.

Instead of efforts to step back from the brink, NBC News said

“(t)he Trump administration is readying a package of diplomatic and military moves against North Korea, including cyberattacks and increased surveillance and intelligence operations…”

With or without Security Council authorization, perhaps Trump intends ordering interdictions and inspections of North Korean ships in international waters – something Pyongyang won’t tolerate, a policy, if ordered, risking war.

Other options Trump is weighing include stiffer unilateral sanctions including against Chinese banks doing business with North Korea, deploying additional THAAD missile systems Russia and China strongly object to, installing land-based Aegis SM-3 missile interceptors, deploying tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea ending decades of US peninsula denuclearization policy, or possible preemptive military strikes.

“I would prefer not going the route of the military, but it’s something certainly that could happen,” Trump said days earlier.

China told the Trump administration it’ll support Pyongyang if Washington attacks the country preemptively, repeating its earlier warning, saying:

“If the US and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so.”

Separately, British officials suggested Iran helped North Korea develop its nuclear capability, an unacceptable provocative claim.

According to The Telegraph,

“North Korea ‘secretly helped by Iran…gain(ed) nuclear weapons,’ British officials fear.”

“Senior Whitehall sources told The Sunday Telegraph it is not credible that North Korean scientists alone brought about the technological advances.”

“Iran is top of the list of countries suspected of giving some form of assistance, while Russia is also in the spotlight.”

Claiming Russia may have helped Pyongyang develop its nuclear weapons capability is absurd and insulting.

Iran doesn’t have this capability. Its nuclear program has no military component. It strongly urges a nuclear-free Middle East. Israel is the only regional armed and dangerous nuclear power.

In an interview published Sunday in France’s Le Journal du Dimanche broadsheet, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called brinksmanship on the Korean peninsula the world’s worst crisis in years, saying:

“(O)ther have started through an escalation caused by sleepwalking…We have to hope that the seriousness of this threat puts us on the path of reason before it is too late,” adding Pyongyang must halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Like his predecessors, Guterres represents Western interests. Instead of explaining why Pyongyang needs this deterrent, he was silent about its genuine fear of US aggression.

The way to suspend its nuclear and ballistic missile programs is by ending the threat it faces – something Washington rejects, heightening tensions further instead of easing them responsibly.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home – Stephen Lendman). Contact at [email protected].

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.


Comment on Global Research Articles on our Facebook page

Become a Member of Global Research


Articles by: Stephen Lendman

About the author:

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]