Threat and show of force:
FOR the 18th time this year, North Korea - peared to be an intercontinental ballistic any other demonstrated by Pyongyang. higher than the International Space Station and twice as high as any satellite before splashing down in the Sea of Japan.
According to a US ballistic missile analyst at the John Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, “a viable ICBM capable of reaching the West Coast of the US mainland is still a year away though North Korea continues to progress.” Of late, however, it is widely believed missile is capable of hitting the US.
The ballistic missile launch by North Korea was preceded by verbal missiles - ing to “totally destroy” North Korea and deriding the secretive state’s leader Kim Jong-un as the “little rocket man” and “a sick puppy.” Kim responded by calling Trump a “frightened dog” and a “mentally deranged US dotard” which is an arcane name for a senile and weak-minded elderly person. Sometime thereafter, the US President declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, putting the country back on a US blacklist Pyongyang was removed from nearly a decade ago.
warned that the North Korean leadership would not “be around much longer” if they continued their rhetoric. To this, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho accused the American President of declaring war on his country and warned that the government in Pyongyang reserves the in the vicinity of North Korea. “Trump claimed our leadership would not be around much longer and hence at last he declared war on us,” Ri told reporters the next day in New York.
The most recent move from the US was a new show of superior military force aimed at North Korea. Described as part of President Trump’s ‘maximum pressure campaign’ against Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and missile program, Korean military bases.
Deployed in South Korea for the exercise was the supersonic Raptor, one of the most advanced airplanes in the world, capable of providing unprecedented air dominance. The realistic air combat exercise was designed to enhance interoperability between US and South Korean forces and increase the combat effectiveness of both countries.
As North Korea continues to develop and test nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems, the US is enhancing the capabilities of South Korea and Japan to counter the growing military threat from Pyongyang.
Japan’s ‘collective self- defense’
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution states:
effect which allows the Japanese Self- Defense Forces to defend the US and other allies should they come under attack. Also known as collective self-defense, it means an attack on Guam would be considered a ‘survived threatening situation’ in Japan or a national emergency which would threaten Japan’s existence as a nation. In the words of Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, “Japan plays a shield role of defense, while the US plays a spear role of offensive capability and deterrence.”
South Korea on the defensive
The threats from North Korea and the counter threats from the US accompanied by exhibition of air and naval capabilities prompted South Korea to increase its budget for armament procurement and advance its military capabilities.
South Korea’s comprehensive defense and deterrence system features, among others, the ‘Kill Chain’ pre-emptive strike system designed to destroy missile threats before they leave North Korean territory and the Korean Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan which is also pre-emptive and will focus on targeting North Korea
The consistency in North Korea’s threats and actions triggered wide condemnation, criticism and concern around the world, especially in Japan. Recently re-elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe disclosed that “North Korea’s nuclear and missile development entered a new level of threat – more grave and imminent against Japan’s national security…undermining the peace and security of the region as well as the international community.”
Japan has not only boosted its defense ties with Washington but is also increasingly coordinating its reaction to North Korean provocations against and South Korea signed an agreement to share military concerns about the dangers posed by North Korea.
It is quite interesting to note that the agreement provides Tokyo and Seoul with direct bilateral channel for exchanging sensitive information and includes a provision that requires the two countries to maintain secrecy of military information from Pyongyang and not to disclose it to a third party.
China’s engagement
Consistently, China was an ally of North 1953) and remains its treaty ally. They are also into a relationship of continuing commercial dealings.
The threat of a military confrontation, however, makes China rethink its resistance to discussing contingencies involving North Korea. As a matter of fact, after last month’s surprise ICBM launch, China’s President Xi Jinping reiterated to President Trump his desire for a diplomatic resolution of the stand-off with North Korea.
Military consultations and security talks between US and China, agreed upon in China engagement will serve as an opportunity to discuss how to manage crises, prevent miscalculations and reduce the risk of misunderstanding on the divided Korean Peninsula to prevent potential
Curiously, North Korea has said in public statements in the past that it wants but no peace treaty has been signed. It also wants nothing short of full normalization of relations with the US and to be treated with respect and as an equal in the global arena. Could it be that, optimistically, once North Korea is able to achieve the objective of its missile tests which may be to show the world its military capability, it will be ready to sit down and discuss matters as an equal? Or, simply, that North Korea is now open to a longer halt on testing in order to reopen negotiations that might help prevent, or at least defer, the imposition of additional US sanctions. The latter speculation is based on Pyong the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force.”
“Horrible,” “unimaginable,” “catastrophic” are the words used by military experts should the threats and shows of force being exchanged between North Korea and the ‘coalition’ of oppositors to the threats deteriorate into actual war. It would be “a loss of life unlike any we have experienced in our lifetimes. Anyone who has been alive since World War 2 has never seen the loss of life that could occur if there US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Joe Dunford. And, from National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, “the potential war with North Korea is increasing everyday.”
Uncertain times call for certain measures. The threats and counter threats have accelerated. Be that as it may, diplomacy remains the preferred course of action. Continue efforts at the UN. Access all areas. Work with Japan and South Korea and engage China and other countries for out of the predicament.