Lately, in political circles I have been posing a very important policy question. The question I ask is what does the world look like if North Korea is allowed to possess a viable nuclear weapons capability that truly threatens the United States. As of now, that world does not exist, but it soon will. My question is designed to force policy makers to address this impending crisis situation while it still can be contained. Disturbingly, it appears there is no real consensus on the issue and most seem to just hope that if they don’t acknowledge the problem, it will go away. Well, I have news. North Korea is only going to become a bigger problem for the world with disastrous consequences within five years. Policy makers must seriously tackle this issue now before a nuclear war becomes a reality.
US policy toward North Korea is exceedingly complex and is becoming more dangerous by the week. The fact the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un is as close to a true irrational actor as the contemporary world has witnessed only makes the situation more volatile. Any policy missteps could cause anything from headaches to nuclear war for our allies like South Korea and Japan. Further, China could quickly become involved in a major war against the US, which will be nuclear if it occurs. Even worse, North Korea is now known inside of intelligence circles as a proxy for Iranian nuclear development. It is no coincidence that since the Obama Administration freed up frozen Iranian assets that North Korea suddenly has had the funds to test multiple ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs. Let me be clear, with every nuclear advancement North Korea makes, it not only destabilizes the Korean Peninsula, but it further destabilizers the Middle East and makes a massive war involving both Saudi Arabia and Israel against Iran even more likely. If not averted now, the world will have one more reason very soon to expect a nuclear war that kills millions of people. Read more
