THE Korean peninsula is closer to war again as a North Korean official reaffirmed on Monday Pyongyang’s commitment to developing a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching “all the way to the East coast of the mainland US.” He said his country is currently not interested in diplomacy with the US until it achieves that goal, as per international media reports.
President Trump is serious to carry out a pre-emptive strike on the North this moment but Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense and such other senior administration officials are still committed to try diplomacy until the first weapon fired. We believe that the volatile situation must be held under check because such war involving nuclear warheads will destroy the region.
North Korea is not ruling out diplomacy, but wants to send a clear message that the DPRK has a reliable defensive and offensive capability to counter any aggression from the United States, as per reports quoting North Korean officials. The comments offer a sobering challenge to the US and the Trump administration giving mixed messages regarding diplomatic efforts with North Korea. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Americans should be concerned about North Korea’s ability to reach the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile, cryptically telling reporters that if the threat grows “beyond where it is today, well, let’s hope that diplomacy works.”
Significantly, Kelly noted that Pyongyang “is developing a pretty good nuclear re-entry vehicle. “For a missile to successfully strike a target it would have to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere without breaking up. Kelly’s comments seem to indicate that the US believes North Korea is close to achieving what would be a key breakthrough for their missile program.
A North Korean official is said to have stated that two additional steps are needed to achieve its goal of a reliable ICBM. Last week, North Korean state media renewed a threat to launch missiles toward the US territory of Guam, warning that “reckless moves” by the US would compel Pyongyang to take action.
It appears that North Korea is ignoring President Donald Trump’s warning of decisive US response with ‘fire and fury’ and the way it is proceeding with new missile programme on test pad may trigger the war in the peninsula any time now. Trump with his unpredictable temper may start it while senior administration officials and Congress are trying to limit the President’s power to order the first strike without broad-based approval. Its cost may be too big for the US and its two allies – Japan and South Korea in addition to the North in terms of devastation and loss to human life. Many believe North Korea would not use the weapons first. Kim values his regime’s survival above all else and knows the use of a nuclear weapon would start a war he could not win. So the US should avoid war and wait.
