US puts stronger military options on table

U.S. Army soldiers prepare their military exercise in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Monday. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with three of them landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal. / AP-Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

The Donald Trump administration is apparently reviewing various military options, including the use of force and the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea, to deal with threats from North Korea, analysts said Monday.

Washington is ratcheting up its rhetoric against Pyongyang after North Korea carried out ballistic missile launches Monday — and previously Feb. 9 — since Trump took office in January.

Given his unpredictable and impulsive character and the political hardships he faces domestically, analysts here say the recent harsh rhetoric may be “more than bluffing.”

They referred to Trump’s view of North Korea as the “greatest immediate threat” and Secretary of Defense James Mattis’s warning that North Korea would face an “effective and overwhelming” response from the U.S. if it used nuclear weapons.

Citing senior officials, U.S. media outlets recently reported that the White House is considering a preemptive military strike on North Korea and effecting a regime change, as well as putting U.S. tactical nuclear weapons back on the Korean Peninsula after withdrawing them in 1991.

Scheduled talks between the North Korean government and former U.S. officials in New York were called off after the U.S. Department of State refused to issue a visa Feb. 25 to Choe Son-hui, the director-general of North American affairs at the North Korean foreign ministry.

“The U.S. actually considered launching a preemptive strike against North Korea during the George W. Bush administration. There are enough reasons for Washington to put it on the table again as Pyongyang’s nuclear threats have been evolving for the past few years,” said Koh Yoo-hwan, a North Korean studies professor at Dongguk University. “I’d say the U.S. is open to every possibility, whether it’s the use of military force or dialogue, to stop North Korea from posing a greater threat.”

Kim Hyun-wook, a U.S. expert at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, speculated that Washington may opt to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea.

“A preemptive strike accompanies huge costs and risks, which I don’t think Trump will like,” he said. “On the other hand, putting back tactical nuclear weapons here seems to suit Trump’s policy to ensure the U.S. nuclear arsenal is at the top of the pack over other countries.”

The experts said South Korea’s role to prevent a possible war on the peninsula will be critical when the next government comes in.

“It won’t be possible for the U.S. to attack North Korea unilaterally without consulting South Korea. In that regard, it will heavily depend on Seoul to mediate between Washington and Pyongyang to settle North Korea’s nuclear program,” Koh said.

Kim said Seoul’s ties with Washington may be affected if a liberal government comes in and stresses inter-Korean relations over the alliance with the U.S.

Meanwhile, some analysts speculated Trump may be highlighting North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats to divert attention from a scandal concerning Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.