Are the USA, Japan, and South Korea joining forces?

The United States President Donald Trump may have found a new ally in the ongoing battle between the U.S. and the diminutive rotund leader of North Korea. Japan indicates it will now join Trump and South Korea against its unruly neighbor in the Korean peninsula. The remarks came after the nuclear missile tests that continues to rocket over the Japanese nation.

Is N. Korea an imminent threat?

Japan said North Korea's nuclear threat had reached a “critical and imminent level.” The Japanese defense minister Itsunori Onodera relates his country's concerns to the U.

S. and South Korean leaders.

Since Kim Jong Un announced he would extend the range of its nuclear-tipped missiles to the American mainland, it has caused widespread alarm around the world. Now, the Japanese government thinks a collaborated response is necessary to deal with the high level of threat from the North Koreans.

The South Korean defense minister also agreed that North Korea’s provocations were becoming progressively worse. Meanwhile, the U.S. defense secretary Jim Mattis criticized North Korea and blamed its leader for threatening regional and global security.

Mattis is on a week-long trip to the region and hopes to find a peaceful resolution to the escalating crisis. He also indicated that diplomacy would work best as the last thing the USA wants is a military confrontation.

Will Jimmy Carter visit Kim Jong-Un?

Former US President Jimmy Carter said he is willing to travel to the region to help the Trump administration diffuse the situation. Notably, Mattis’s approach has been entirely different from Trump's, who had a verbal exchange with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump had threatened to destroy North Korea, Jong-Un responded by referring to Donald Trump as, “mentally deranged.”

ASEAN condemns N. Korea

Mattis is currently in the Philippines to attend an ASEAN Defense Ministers meeting. ASEAN released a statement expressing “grave concern” over the North Korean nuclear missile program. They urged North Korea to fulfill its international obligations.

The committee also asked the North Korean officials to start communicating again with the rest of the world.

The U.S. defense secretary will next visit Thailand as a prelude to Trump’s first Asian visit. This includes a trip to China with hopes that its government will attempt to talk some sense to their recalcitrant ally.

Being North Korea’s neighbor and biggest trading partner, China is expected to wield considerable influence over its leader Kim Jong-Un. However, for now, it seems the delicately poised situation is at an impasse between the North Koreans, Japan, USA and South Korea.