First of all, the NBC report that the U.S. will strike if North Korea tests nuclear missiles is false according to the Pentagon. Â The media is overreacting as usual though it certainly is a dangerous situation because Kim Jong Un and his family are fanatics.
North Korea did launch another dud missile that failed almost immediately and we are not at war. It likely wasn’t an ICBM the U.S. reported with a high degree of confidence. The failure could be the result of a U.S. cyberattack.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former U.K. foreign secretary, speaking to the BBC Sunday and quoted in The Telegraph of London: “It could have failed because the system is not competent enough to make it work, but there is a very strong belief that the US — through cyber methods — has been successful on several occasions in interrupting these sorts of tests and making them fail.”
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The N.Y. Times’ story, p. A9:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “is acutely aware that the threat that he could soon possess — a missile that could strike the continental United States — is Washington’s biggest concern, and both the number and the variety of missiles he showed on Saturday seemed to be sending the message that a pre-emptive strike against his facilities would be fruitless.”
Beijing is willing to work with Washington on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program but wants a peaceful solution to the escalating conflict, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump in a phone call on April 12th.
Xi’s made his comments after Trump tweeted that if China won’t help, the U.S. will go it alone.
China is calling for calm. The U.S. dispatched a U.S. aircraft carrier to the area and is performing joint military exercises with South Korean troops.
North Korea has been threatening much of the world for decades and now Trump’s threatening them back.
China is willing to work on denuclearization of Korea as they’ve been “willing” to in the past while supplying North Korea with the equipment they need to build their nuclear armaments.
“China insists on realizing the denuclearization of the peninsula, insists on maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, and advocates resolving the problem through peaceful means,” Xi was quoted as saying.
The two leaders spoke Tuesday night Washington time after Trump said an “armada” of vessels including the USS Carl Vinson carrier was steaming to waters off the Korean Peninsula in a show of force.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that he “Had a very good call last night with the President of China concerning the menace of North Korea.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that it was a “good thing” that the two leaders were in touch again days after meeting in Florida, abc news reported.
Regarding the U.S. Navy strike force’s arrival in the western Pacific, Lu said: “We hope all parties will refrain from irresponsible actions that would be very dangerous at the moment.”
North Korean state media has warned of a nuclear attack on the United States in retaliation for any signs of aggression, as he has said so many times before.
There is a real possibility of a cyber attack on the U.S., that more than a military assault, perhaps on our grid.
In an interview with “Meet The Press” that will air Sunday, Kelly said U.S. leaders are being cautious about the nuclear threat from Pyongyang.
“In the case of North Korea, you know, a kinetic threat [missile attack] against the United States right now I don’t think is likely, but certainly a cyber threat,” Kelly said.
“We would raise various threat levels in the event that something happened and we felt as though that there was a possible threat,” he added. “You always want to caution on the side of — come down on the side of caution.”
Leaders in Pyongyang have announced a “big event” is coming soon, which U.S. officials believe could be a sixth nuclear test.
Trump offered Xi a good trade deal for his help in stopping North Korea’s nuclear program.
China has suspended imports of coal from North Korea and is threatening shipments of oil to the “hermit” kingdom.
China abstained from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning last week’s chemical attack on civilians in Syria. It’s the first time they haven’t voted with Russia against the U.S..
China could stop shipping goods to the DPRK that can be used in the development of nuclear weapons.
They could financially break North Korea but Beijing says it will not countenance measures that could bring about a collapse of the regime that could release a flood of refugees across its border, destabilize northeast Asia and result in a U.S.-friendly government taking power in Pyongyang.
“The United States and South Korea and North Korea are engaging in tit for tat, with swords drawn and bows bent, and there have been storm clouds gathering,” said China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, according to The New York Times.
“We urge all sides to no longer engage in mutual provocation and threats, whether through words or deeds, and don’t push the situation to the point where it can’t be turned around and gets out of hand.
“No matter who it is, if they let war break out on the peninsula, they must shoulder that historical culpability and pay the corresponding price for this.”
Panetta was out swinging also.
“There is no question this is a tinderbox,” Panetta, also the chief of staff for former President Bill Clinton, told the MSNBC “Andrea Mitchell Reports” program.
“It has been for a long time, but we’re at a time when there is a potential for provocation . . . the words from the administration are creating an even higher volume in terms of the provocations that are going on. I think we have to be careful here.”
There is a reason no president has pulled the trigger on North Korea, and that’s because of the “20 million people in Seoul that would be a target,” said Panetta.
That is a serious concern and it is what North Korea has held over us, however, they will soon be able to blow up more of their neighbors and, eventually hit the U.S.
“We have a potential for a nuclear war that would take millions of lives,” Panetta told Mitchell. “I think we have to exercise some care here. We just gave China the opportunity to engage [North Korea]. Let’s see how they do.”
That is what Trump said he would do – wait for China. He’s trying to light a fire under them.
China again called for de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as they did last September, as they did in 2012 and as they’ve done so many times before. Meanwhile the parts of the missiles the North Koreans are launching are being made by Chinese firms and crazy Kim would rather die than back down.
Politicus suggested Donald Trump started up a mess of trouble with North Korea and then went golfing for the 12th time. At least he didn’t give a heartwarming speech about an American being beheaded and then go yucking it up on the golf course twenty minutes later. Besides, the mess is North Korea’s mess.
They goosestep like the Nazis.
The Pentagon has made it clear that there will be no military strike for a launch of a missile or for a nuclear test.
We updated this with the information from Secretary Kelly.
