US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson touched down in Asia recently to announce the White House’s “new approach” to dealing with North Korea, although he avoided mentioning anything specific about said approach (a bit of a pattern with the Trump administration).
In his pep talk, Tillerson said he was gunning for a different result than previous administrations had gotten from the nuke-toting dictator-ruled nation, complaining about years of unsuccessful “diplomatic and other efforts,” and agreeing with the Japanese foreign minister’s claim that their nuclear arms situation is “totally unacceptable.” He advised Kim Jong-un “to change your path” because Trump was coming for him.
He headed back to the States, and Kim went straight to missile launch mode.
‘New approach’ is exactly like the old approach
Tillerson didn’t mention what the “new approach” to North Korea was, and now it’s been discovered that this new approach is actually really just the old approach. It’s like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” It’s basically just “A New Hope” rehashed. Past Presidential administrations have used the exact words about North Korea’s “unacceptable” behaviour and directing them to a new “path.”
Barack Obama said he wanted to “break that pattern” of North Korea getting away with murder and George W. Bush branded Kim Jong-il (who was in power at the time, and is dead now) a whiny little kid who acts out and throws food on the floor.
But America can only ever seem to talk the talk, it can’t walk the walk. Presidents always clean up the food and continue to feed the little brat. If Trump and Tillerson and the rest of the administration are taking the same approach with them (as is suggested by the use of the same words), then they’ll keep picking up the food too, and North Korea will keep getting away with it.
North Korea’s nukes developing rapidly
Kim Jong-un has better nukes and better missiles every single day. He keeps developing them and testing them, and we know he’s got a missile capable of reaching American soil – just imagine what we don’t know. The North Korea situation is very delicate. Kim Jong-un is just sitting at home with his finger on the launch button, just waiting for Donald Trump to give him a reason.
If Trump kicks off at Kim Jong-un, America’s allies will freak out, its enemies will have a good laugh and then retaliate, and World War III will quickly ensue. Thanks, Tillerson, for absolutely nothing.