So far North Korea has conducted five ballistic missile tests despite warnings from the international community. The nation has with impunity fired these nuclear weapons too close to nations like Japan for comfort, leading to reactions from the United States.
In the beginning, the United States warned the Asian country that any retaliatory measure would be on the table in response to its nuclear provocations. On Wednesday, all 100 US Senators met in the White House for a special session that hints at a change in the current administration’s stand, with the US exploring ‘softer’ options to disarm the North Korean regime of its nuclear arsenal.
Though no details were made public after the meeting, the Senators held different viewpoints as to the briefing they had received. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) stated that the presentation had been ‘okay’ pointing to the fact that they had heard of no new developments in the North Korean situation. Meanwhile, Senator Christopher Coons, a Democrat, stated that the briefing had illuminated several key ‘well-proportioned measures’ to deal with the erratic nation. “It was a sobering meeting,” Conns said.
The Senate briefing was headed by the Director for National Intelligence Dan Coats, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Chairman of Joint Chiefs General Joseph Dunford and SecDef James Mattis. When questioned as to the reason for the assembly being held in the White House, all senators gave the unanimous non-partisan answer that the reason was negligible so long as the message was passed.
With the looming threat of an attack by North Korea on US Asian allies such as Japan, South Korea and China, President Trump’s administration has decided to take the diplomatic route to curb the threat. The US will extend opportunities to North Korean President Kim Jung-un to get rid of Pyongyang. Should that fail, the US will impose more sanctions on the nation until it complies. Tillerson is set to enlist the help of more countries on the global front to sanction North Korea at the UN Security Council meeting that will be held on Friday.
The US considers China an essential part of the implementation of the strategy. China’s hard stance against imposing sanctions on its south-bound neighbor seems to have mellowed after President Xi Jinping’s State Visit a few weeks ago. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer both expressed optimism that the US-China relations will pay off when it comes to dealing with North Korea.
North Korea responded to the appeal for disarmament by stating that it will attack any nation that threatens its sovereignty, including the US and its allies. The US in return promised to take any measures that it deems necessary to deal with any threat posed by the nation.
Even with talk of diplomacy, speculation over a US attack on North Korea remains. On Wednesday the North American superpower perched its anti-nuclear defense system THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Device) in South Korea after North Korea conducted a live-fire parade on Tuesday. The THAAD initiative was met with opposition from both China and South Korean civilians who said that the US attacking North Korea would elevate the number of deaths in the three countries.
