Bravery needed, not macho posturing

Since North Korea was included in then-American President George W Bush’s “axis of evil” 15 years ago, the world has watched an escalation of tensions between the nations without being unduly worried about it.

The peninsula state has always seemed relatively insignificant when compared to the other two members of Bush’s triumvirate – Iraq and Iran.

However, recent events show it may have been underestimated, if only for the upheaval its actions could cause.

Kim Jong Un’s often comical sabre-rattling has taken a sinister turn with attempts to show his military strength.

He has been unsuccessful so far but if a promised nuclear response to American aggression were to be forthcoming, it would draw the world’s biggest powers into open conflict.

As always, the best option for future stability would be a diplomatic solution and it must be hoped that is VicePresident Mike Pence’s brief for his mission to South Korea. His boss’s bombs and chocolate cake boasts would suggest not.

The United Nations seems either helpless or disinterested at a time when it should be taking the lead in bringing the US, China, North and South Korea around the table. Could Great Britain yet take a lead in brokering peace? That would fall within the remit of foreign secretary Boris Johnson, a man for whom diplomacy seems to be an alien concept, best left to others.

The world needs someone brave enough to cut through the noise and begin talks.