Kim Jung Un, the corpulent dictator of North Korea, has promised that a test of an ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the American homeland is forthcoming soon. President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted, "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!" The folks at the Resurgent newsletter are now afraid that Trump, known for his provocative tweets, is daring Kim, known for being and acting insane, to try to lob a nuclear weapon on – say – California.
Of course, as we have seen since Trump launched the world’s most deadly Twitter account, stratagem usually exists behind his forays into social media. We also know that the president in waiting is being kept up to speed with top secret intelligence briefings and thus knows what North Korea’s real nuclear capabilities are and American efforts to counter them.
To be sure, during the campaign, Trump has both threatened to cut Japan and South Korea loose and has also suggested that they get their own nuclear arsenal. But that was then, and this is now. Trump is now being advised by adults such as his nominee for secretary of defense, James Mattis. Rest assure that Trump is already working a strategy to contain Kim and make sure that he does not develop a way to deliver nukes against anyone.
Part of that plan will be to augment missile defense, which will include reviving the Reagan-era idea of deploying weapons in space. Technology has significantly advanced since the 1980s, so we’ll see how threatening rogue states such as North Korea are when ringed by laser platforms that can shoot down anything that flies out of the Hermit Kingdom known for its incapacity to feed its people as much as threatening its neighbors with nuclear war.
Another part of a strategy toward North Korea will be to apply pressure on China to bring Kim to heel. China has been content to allow North Korea to be a problem for the West. But an insane dictator having nukes on their border is not a situation that will be in Beijing’s interests either. How Trump will try to make that happen will be fascinating to watch.
