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Key points in this article

• The U.S. government aims to adopt tougher sanctions against North Korea
• President Trump is resolved and prepared to take military action at any moment
• Kim Jong-un should opt for a bloodless surrender

 
The 9th was North Korea’s founding day. North Korea chose to celebrate last years’ founding day with their 5th nuclear test. There were fears that they may launch another ICBM on the 9th this year, but while they didn’t take any explicit action, they called for “cutting edge Juche weapons in greater quantities”, Juche referring to the country’s nationalist Marxist ideology.

Amongst rising tensions, the U.S. government proposed to the United Nations, more severe sanctions against North Korea. They consist of banning any exports of “crude oil, condensates, refined petroleum products, and natural gas liquids” to North Korea, as well as the freezing of Kim Jong-un’s assets, prohibition of Kim’s removal from North Korea, and prohibition on the hiring of North Korean nationals. Trump’s rage can be felt in the severity of these impositions.

The U.S. government aims to adopt these on the 11th, but opposition from China and Russia have made this difficult. China provides North Korea with 50 thousand tons crude oil annually, and 53 thousand North Korean nations are employed in Russia. Even if the U.S. succeeds in adopting these new sanction, it is uncertain whether China and Russia will agree to follow them.

Military Action Is an Option

The question of greatest import is if Trump will decide to take military action or not.

On the 7th, Trump told reporters that “military action would certainly be an option”, but also stated that “nothing’s inevitable . . . I would prefer not going the route of military.”

Jonathan D. Pollack, senior fellow in the John L. Thornton China Centre at the Brookings Institution explained that, “North korea’s August 29 test of an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) crossed a crucial threshold in its missile development”. He added that this war will bring unbelievable destruction, but the U.S will not hesitate.

Mike Allen, an analyst of Trump’s twitter posts, commented on Axios that, “Extreme threats don’t necessarily mean extreme actions. Trump clearly thinks the only way Kim Jong-un will back off is if he believes the U.S. will wipe out his country.”

Other conservative media such as Fox News, OAN News and Newsmax are becoming increasingly supportive of military action. We can expect Trump to move at any moment.

The Best Future: a Bloodless Surrender

North Korea will be met with “fire and fury”, “talking is not the answer” and U.S. military actions will be “a very sad day” for North Korea. Trump’s words, his new severe sanctions and the analysts’ fear of the level of destruction that U.S. action will bring, elucidate Trump’s determination.

Trump is giving Kim an option: to face the destruction of his country or to surrender.

During Japan’s Sengoku period in the 15th and 16th centuries (an aged marked by almost constant military conflict), when Hideyoshi Toyotomi attacked the Takamatsu Castle by diverting the course of a river and flooding the region, Shimizu Muneharu who was the enemy leader offered his life in exchange for those of his vassals. Hideyoshi praised him highly, and gave Muneharu a fine funeral. Muneharu’s honourable conduct is still admired today.

Kim Jong-un, if he is really a leader of his people, ought to give up nuclear developments to protect the lives of his people. This is the final and best thing Kim can now do as a leader of his nation.