[September 5, 2017] Those familiar with the dictatorship of North Korea and its socialist system know that its leadership can be unpredictable, bellicose, demanding, and as of late has practiced nuclear brinkmanship.1 Since the armistice was signed in 1953, ending three years of bloody warfare, Americans have consistently put off any real solution to the hermit nation.
Strategic Patience (also called “containment”) has been the official policy of the United States and has been responsible for preventing war on the Korean peninsula since the armistice. Unfortunately, this appears to no longer be working and has been rejected by the Trump Administration. The question? What to do about it.
Senior leadership is very difficult, much more so than people realize. I once had a 4-star Korean Army general tell me that the various solutions to the “North Korea problem” are easy to talk about but nearly impossible to achieve. Waiting for the North, on the other hand, has its own set of problems that could result in the death of millions.
There are several things the U.S. could do to send a clear message to the DPRK’s leader Kim Jong Un and his military that what they are doing are unacceptable and the days of appeasement are over. What it takes to send a clear message will take both moral courage and strong political will.
- U.S. President Trump should request permission from Congress to step up pressure on North Korea.
- Announce and then begin an immediate pull-out of all military and diplomatic families.
- Move large numbers of advanced anti-missile systems into South Korea, Guam, Japan, and other allied nations (with their coordination and consent).
- Increase the U.S. military presence in the Pacific and surrounding waters.
- Restrict economic ties with China.
- Use the United Nations to further punish North Korea.
- Move nuclear-capable military assets to the area.
- Begin training Special Forces with the mission to decapitate North Korea’s leadership.
- Visibly increase military, political, diplomatic, and economic ties with other nations in the region.
- U.S. President Trump and his team would steadfastly say nothing and make no comment about any of this.
Actions speak louder than words. It would become immediately clear to everyone that the U.S. is serious about the problem of North Korea’s nuclear capability. Let rumors spread but deny any of them; this lets people begin second guessing what is about to happen. No U.S. or allied government should be in the position to give an official account of the purpose of any of these actions but only that they are underway.
Senior leaders send clear messages. The only public announcement of the U.S. government and its allied is that North Korea should immediately remove all its nuclear weapons and its nuclear research program.
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