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Trump Rejects Diplomacy With North Korea |
By Stephen Lendman |
| Truman’s war never ended. An uneasy armistice persists. The heavily fortified
2.5 mile Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separates North and South. Occasional
incidents occur. America needs enemies to justify bloated military spending. Pyongyang is America’s longstanding Asian punching bag. It’s wanted normalized relations for decades. Washington wants adversarial ones instead. In response to its recent ballistic missile tests, neocon US UN envoy Nikki Haley denounced DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, calling him irrational, displaying “unbelievable, irresponsible arrogance…” “(A)ll options are on the table,” she added. “We are making those decisions now and we will act accordingly,” provocatively suggesting possible war. Washington rejects diplomacy. China asked the Trump administration to halt joint military activities with South Korea (Pyongyang considers preparations for war) in exchange for the DPRK suspending its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. State Department spokesman Mark Toner rejected Beijing’s proposal, saying “(w)hat we’re doing in terms of our defense cooperation with South Korea is in no way comparable to the blatant disregard that North Korea has shown with respect to international law.” No nations more egregiously violate it than America, Israel and their rogue partners in high crimes. North Korea never attacked another country throughout its post-WW II history. Truman’s war turned much of the country to rubble. Taking its cue from Washington, South Korea also rejected halting its military exercises, its UN envoy Cho Tae-yul, saying “(t)his is not the time for us to talk about freezing or dialogue with North Korea.” The Obama administration rejected a similar Pyongyang proposal in 2015, opting for continued adversarial relations. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged negotiations to avoid a possible “head-on collision.” Its UN envoy Lie Jieyi warned “if you look at…the development of events now on the Korean peninsula, there is a real danger.” There’s a real risk.” The alternative to China’s proposal is “escalat(ed) tension(s), and the situation may get out of control.” Provocations on the peninsula affect Beijing’s security, why it wants military confrontation avoided. Next week, Secretary of State Tillerson meets with his Japanese, Chinese and South Korean counterparts, talks focusing on Pyongyang’s “advancing nuclear and missile threat,” according to the State Department. Despite strong objections by Russia and China, citing a serious threat to their security, Washington began deploying Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile systems in South Korea. Discussed in a previous article, they’re designed to intercept and down short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase. Instead of warheads, they rely on impact kinetic energy to destroy incoming missiles. Deploying THAADs is more about targeting Russia and China than North Korea, both countries warning of escalating tensions and instigating an arms race. Is Trump contemplating Korean war 2.0? Launching it would be madness. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |