After blatant refusals by North Korea to halt its missile development program, officials say the National Security Council is seeking alternative ways to neutralize the threat posed by the communist regime, per an NBC News report. Among those ways, it seems, are two options that President trump may have to be prepared to resort to situating nuclear bombs in South Korea like the US did almost three decades ago, or killing North Korean dictator Kim-Jong un.
Trump's meeting with Chinese president didn't offer much in the way of solutions
After a meeting with china's President Xi Jinping today that sources claim was progressive but not entirely productive, America's new president has an interesting conundrum to deal with.
While his recent call for missile strikes against Syria was a move that forced the rest of the world to take the billionaire businessman seriously as America's leader, being too heavy-handed in North Korean dealings could spell negative connotations in terms of future US international relations. With China as a North Korean ally, it would be unwise for Trump to make such a powerful adversary. Russia has already disapproved of the US decision regarding Syria, and, though the country could hardly have been counted as a US ally, to begin with, Trump surely does not want to be on the wrong side of two nations with such economic power and influence.
On the other hand, taking a more passive approach to dealing with a North Korean program that has no intention of stopping could be a sign of weakness to Kim-Jong un possibly motivating him to ramp up production efforts.
Opposing camps disagree on possibly weaponizing South Korea
There are two opposing sides in the argument of how to handle the 33-year-old's communist regime. Several sources feel deploying nuclear weapons would only anger North Korea and prompt retaliation- and if those nukes are not actually going to be used, the act would antagonize an already volatile government for no good reason.
In fact, former Navy Adm. James Stavridis told NBC News that he doesn't see "any upside to it because the idea that we would use a nuclear weapon even against North Korea is highly unlikely." Sources say other members of military leadership also disagree with the idea- stressing that the risk far outweighs any possible reward.
On the other hand, the former US ambassador to South Korea says citizens of North Korea's neighboring country are slowly starting to support the idea of American nuclear weapons on their soil. NBC reports that another high-ranking intelligence official is also leaning towards weaponizing the country of 50 million. He indicates that while nuclear weapons are never a good idea, a strong show of strength might do the job two decades of diplomacy obviously hasn't.
Killing North Korean leader is a remote option
As for killing the highly controversial leader, members of both camps are saying that while it remains an option, retaliatory efforts by the country and its lone Chinese ally are just too unpredictable.
Trump, ever outspoken, has not minced words in discussing where his administration stands on the issue. While he hopes to resolve the conflict diplomatically, he has also issued a simple ultimatum: "If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will."
