Surely, many people are exhausted at the prospect of witnessing yet another entry into the timeline of North Korea’s aggression against the United States. However, the sitting president has thoroughly embraced the existing war of words while telling the U.N. that there’s no choice but to destroy North Korea if “Rocket Man” doesn’t behave. Pyongyang responded by calling Trump’s words a “declaration of war” before threatening to nuke Japan and reduce the U.S. to “ashes to dust.”
Yet Trump was not deterred, so his goading of Kim Jong-un has continued, and the nation’s foreign minister is talking again. Ri Yong Hong Yo spoke with Russia’s state-run TASS agency (via Reuters) with an assertion that his nation is ready to stop the rhetoric and start fighting. So despite Secretary of State Rex Tillerson engaging in “direct” talks with North Korea (which was a waste of time in the eyes of Trump), they want to put words into actions:
“With his bellicose and insane statement at the United Nations, Trump, you can say, has lit the wick of a war against us. We need to settle the final score, only with a hail of fire, not words.”
North Korea could be a few missile tests or one more nuclear adventure away from actually striking U.S. targets in Japan and South Korea (and even the U.S. mainland). Such a sobering almost-reality means that it shouldn’t be too surprising that outgoing GOP Senator Bob Corker has gone scorched earth while publicly worrying that Trump could start World War III. Corker stated that many of his Republican colleagues feel the same way, and Senator Cory Booker has confirmed that Democrats agree.
Seriously, it might be time to send Jimmy Carter to do some talking.
(Via Reuters & The Independent)