The relations between the US and North Korea are a delicate matter because there are nuclear arms involved, plus the nation’s ticking time-bomb leader Kim Jong Un. Obama understood that. Unfortunately, it seems as though President-elect Donald Trump does not understand, and is instead cyberbullying Kim on Twitter.
Trump on North Korean missile test ‘It won’t happen’
Trump has confidently called a potential bluff by Kim, who has promised to test an intercontinental ballistic missile they’ve been working on which could reach America, but its new leader doesn’t seem to sweat it.
Trump simply tweeted, “It won’t happen.” That’ll be sure to make Kim mad, possibly mad enough to point his missile at America.
Trump then sent out another tweet calling out China yet again. He’s not on the best of terms with China because they’re not siding with the US on the North Korea situation. He tweeted, “China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won’t help with North Korea. Nice!”
Analysts say Trump is cornered by North Korea
Analysts are saying that Trump is hurting himself by taunting Kim like this, and needs to take his claims seriously if there is even a slight chance that North Korea could have a weapon capable of reaching the US from safe on their soil.
According to these analysts, Trump has four options, although he seems too preoccupied with his Twitter account to carry them out.
They say that while Trump may be right that China isn’t pulling its weight in the North Korea situation, he needs to try a different strategy in terms of getting them to actually help. It’s worth mentioning that China is North Korea’s only true ally and their economic benefactor, so they’d be very handy to have on America’s side of the fence.
However, the analysts also say that China is not only not willing but also unable to push North Korea. Tong Zhao, a global policy figure in Beijing, says, “China is frustrated by its inability to push North Korea.” Zhao also says that an aggressive, Trump-style move like a trade war would lead to a “huge negative response” from China, so it’ll be tricky.
The analysts have three other suggestions
One is that Trump should clinch sanctions on North Korea, but the past has shown that Kim does not respond well to being sanctioned. He is generally disobedient and rebellious, like a child at school who goes against the rules for the sake of it. He has also shown that he can’t be bribed or bought off, so Trump doesn’t even have that going for him, which has been a key strategy of the “Apprentice” star throughout his career.
Trump could always launch military action against North Korea, which would probably lead to that nuclear World War III Nostradamus predicted he’d be responsible for. Kim has been having a lot of fun the past few years since he got into power trying out all his nuclear arsenal to see which could cause the most destruction to capitalist pigs.
Fun fact: North Korea is the only country in the world that has tested a nuclear weapon so far this century.
Trump could sit down for a frank discussion with Kim Jong Un
The analysts’ fourth and final suggestion was that Trump could have a conversation with Kim. He said he was open to it on his campaign trail. His exact words were: “What the hell is wrong with speaking [to Kim]?” He hasn’t reiterated his remark since, so hopefully his feelings still stand and he wasn’t just blowing smoke as usual. Kim is known for his disregard for his people’s human rights, and a US President going over to Pyongyang to speak to him might grate with some Americans, but Trump may be able to pull it off.
According to Zhao, Trump could go down in history as the “American president who prevented North Korea from obtaining the ability to strike the US with a nuclear weapon,” and added that “a big breakthrough” is only achieved in politics “when two leaders actually talk to each other.”
