North Korean leader Kim Jong recently upped the ante when he allowed testing of 4 IRBMs in the Sea of Japan. Many in the USA called for a military strike to neutralize the Norths march to acquire ICBMs to hit the USA. This is a simplistic solution and fraught with danger.This was after he had tested an ICBM earlier. A strike by the US on the North will invite retaliation and South Korea and Japan will definitely be hit. North Korea is a proxy for China and a US attack will only serve the Chinese interest. The US could get involved in another messy war, another Vietnam?

Korean problem

The Korean problem is a relic of the early fifties of the last century. At that time the USA fought a war on the Korean peninsula. The war lasted 3 years and led nowhere. Both sides decided the war was unwinnable and agreed for an armistice. The North embarked on a military and nuclear weapons buildup while the USA guaranteed the security of Japan and the South.Tensions have been simmering since the 50s and a small match could ignite a nuclear war.

A solution

In such a scenario Donald will have to solve the problem. It cannot be allowed to go on. A look at Vietnam will perhaps yield a clue. The USA fought the Communists for over 2 decades before retreating. At that time many suggested that Ho Chi Minh the Communist leader could in real terms be the American man in Vietnam.

The US never exploited this but today China and Vietnam are antagonists. They fought a war in 1983 and now dispute the South China Sea. Could something similar happen in Korea?

Meeting Kim

Donald during the electiòn campaign had said he had no problem in meeting the Korean dictator. This is an out of box solution and though Japan and the South will be unhappy it is the way forward.

China also will not like it as it does not want any rapprochement in the region between North Korea and the USA.Such a meeting could be the way forward. Who knows what will happen after that? Kim may well be defanged and become like the Vietnamese leader. If that happens it will be a masterstroke by a man who is under siege in America.