Nuke-obsessed North Korea ultimately dreams of being able to successfully launch a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile at the U.S. As insane as this sounds, dictator Kim Jong-Un has told Trump that he can do so whenever he pleases, and the country recently used the coast of Japan as target practice for hitting U.S. military bases. However, North Korea’s recent missile failure leads one to believe that there’s nothing immediate to fear, yet President Trump is warning that a yuge clash may be in the cards.
Trump spoke with Reuters to put a bow on his messy First 100 Days. He confirmed that being president is harder than his old life, and then this North Korea stuff came up. Trump’s already launched a missile strike in Syria and dropped a MOAB in Afghanistan, yet here, he admits that North Korea is his “biggest global challenge.” His administration is considering leveling more sanctions on the regime but hasn’t removed the military option.
How does Trump plan on dealing with North Korea? He believes the U.S. may inevitably clash with the country, and he says that Kim Jong-Un probably had a rough ascendancy to power, and that part makes no sense:
“There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely. We’d love to solve things diplomatically but it’s very difficult.
“He’s 27 years old. His father dies, took over a regime. So say what you want but that is not easy, especially at that age. I’m not giving him credit or not giving him credit, I’m just saying that’s a very hard thing to do. As to whether or not he’s rational, I have no opinion on it. I hope he’s rational.”
Perhaps the most shocking revelation here is that Trump would like South Korea to “pay the cost” of the THAAD anti-missile defense system (good luck?) Trump also seems to have given up on pushing Chinese President Xi Jingping too hard to help with the North Korea problem because perhaps he’s unable to do much.
Yet all indications are that the White House feels very seriously about North Korea, and Trump appears to be prepping for a big decision or announcement. The administration went so far as to summon the Senate for a meeting on the subject, although some attendees felt unimpressed. Well, that’s better than hearing that Trump’s about to declare war, right? For now.
UPDATE: On Friday morning, China would neither confirm nor deny U.S. claims that they would level sanctions in the event of future North Korean nuke tests.
(Via Reuters)