Trump’s Warning To North Korea Is Appropriate – OpEd
In the wake of the threat of North Korea to fire off four Hwasong-12 missiles toward Guam, a tiny island which is a major military hub for US, President Donald Trump has warned North Korea in clear terms that any missile attack would be met by strong retaliatory action “the likes of which nobody has seen before.”
Trump’s warning to North Korea has justifiably caused concern all over the world and there are criticisms that the posture of Trump is unwarranted, hasty and only shows his lack of responsible attitude towards peace in the world. At the same time, it should be noted that President Trump has also received some measure of support from many quarters who have pointed out that there is no other way of dealing with today’s North Korea, which is under the control of an irresponsible and violent prone leadership.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to have reacted carefully and said that she opposed any use of force to resolve the conflict anywhere in the world. She has also reminded about the United Nations Security Council and perhaps implied that President Trump should discuss the matter in the United Nations Security Council before initiating any retaliatory action against North Korea. But, she has ignored the fact that North Korea is not member of the UN Security Council.
All said and done, the ground reality is that North Korea is in possession of nuclear weapons and has developed some sort of capability in carrying out nuclear missile attacks. While there are other countries like India, Pakistan also in possession of nuclear weapon, the difference in the case of North Korea is that this country now remains largely isolated except with it’s close contact with China. One gets an impression that it would not be possible to have reasonable dialogue with North Korea, since it’s all powerful 33 year old leader Kim Jong-un appears to be a person who imposes his will and decisions without showing mercy to anyone. Nuclear missile under the control of such a person point to an extremely dangerous situation for several of its neighbours in Asia.
In such situation, it is not surprising that China has said that it would remain neutral if North Korea would launch an attack to threaten the US. It is very well known that North Korea is getting total support from China to sustain its economy and many observers think that for all practical purposes, North Korea is under total control of China and can even be considered as an extended territory of China. China is certainly in a position to make North Korea halt it’s plan for missile tests but it remains silent without taking any steps.
In recent times, the behavior of North Korea and China threatening the neighbouring countries are not different. China has repeatedly said that it would not hesitate to go for a war with India if its border disputes with India would not be amicably settled to its satisfaction. China’s aggressive actions with regard to South China Sea and Senkaku Island have destabilized the peace in Asia.
In such circumstances, the world should introspect as to what should be the strategy to deal with aggressive nations and their leadership, who threaten the world peace to assert their superiority and craze for leadership position in the world.
Given the tension created by North Korea and it’s irresponsible leadership, President Trump’s tough stand against North Korea appears to be appropriate and justified. One should imagine the consequences of North Korea launching its missiles and using its nuclear power. The consequences would be extremely disastrous.
President Trump has given the timely warning to the senseless leadership of North Korea to put fear and prevent any missile attack by North Korea.
If North Korea would fail to see the writing on the wall, strong military action by US would not only become unavoidable but can also be well justified.
