North Korea has cautioned the United States that it would resort to a nuclear attack if provoked and Donald Trump has opened up on the issue. He has taken the Twitter route to announce his intentions and has reiterated that he would not hesitate to take action against the dictatorship and go ahead irrespective of whether China chipped in or not.
New Zealand Herald reports that Donald Trump has dropped a hint for China and said that, if it expects to have a better trade deal with the United States, it should extend cooperation so that the threat posed by North Korea can be nullified.
The situation in North Korea
North Korea had conducted tests on a mid-range ballistic missile when the Chinese President Xi Jinping was engaged in the summit meeting with Donald Trump in Florida. That led to tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the US took action to divert a naval strike force to the western Pacific Ocean. The force consists of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and three guided-missile destroyers.
As expected, North Korea saw red and threatened the US with serious consequences. It went to the extent of saying that it could carry out a nuclear attack because its nuclear weapons were focused on not just the US bases in South Korea but also the mainland of America.
In view of the threats and counter threats, China is reported to have sent its soldiers to the border because it feels the US could carry out a pre-emptive strike.
US must tread with caution
The 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea falls on Saturday and there is every possibility that Kim Jong-Un could take this opportunity to launch a missile or test a nuclear device. Incidentally, Kim Il-sung is Kim Jong-Un’s late grandfather.
Donald Trump has threatened the country with unilateral military action and his latest tweets indicate that he wants to get a positive response from China since it is the only major ally of North Korea.
It is difficult to predict how things will shape up because China has sent 150,000 troops to the border in anticipation of military action. South Korea has also reported that medical and back-up units from the People's Liberation Army had been deployed to the Yalu River.
To say that the situation is volatile would be an understatement but Donald Trump has shown that he is not one to slow down. There are ominous signs in the air and we will see how Washington proceeds to tame Pyongyang.