By Yi Whan-woo
The United States is getting serious about considering military options against North Korea after Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Wednesday, which is believed to be capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
Using military options has been considered risky even in the U.S. as it could result in North Korea’s immediate retaliation against the South, where 230,000 American citizens including 28,500 troops reside.
President Moon Jae-in has also repeatedly said such options should not be used without Seoul’s approval, thus posing more of a challenge to a pre-emptive strike or other possible attacks on Pyongyang.
But the ICBM test is renewing calls to test Washington’s military power as part of the sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang, as it has become evident that the North is now capable of striking the U.S.
“It is a situation that we will handle. We will take care of it,” U.S. President Trump said in response to the test.
He did not give further details. But on Twitter, he stressed the need to raise military spending, posting that “After North Korea missile launch, it’s more important than ever to fund our gov’t & military!”
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said during a CNN interview that “If we have to go to war to stop this, we will.”
“If there’s a war with North Korea it will be because North Korea brought it on itself, and we’re headed to a war if things don’t change,” he added.
Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, also told CNN that the ICBM test should “disabuse U.S. officials from thinking military displays, sanctions, or threats are deterring North Korean tests.”
He claimed the launch shows that the Trump administration also “has to get serious about deterring an atmospheric nuclear test.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis assessed the ICBM launch as North Korea’s “continued efforts to build a threat” that can endanger “world peace, regional peace and certainly the United States.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, “Diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now.”
“The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful path to denuclearization and to ending belligerent actions by North Korea,” he said in a statement.
Tillerson called on the international community to take “additional measures” separate from existing sanctions on North Korea to enhance maritime security.
He also announced that the U.S. and Canada will convene a meeting of the United Nations Command that will include South Korea and Japan to discuss “how the global community can counter North Korea’s threat to international peace.”
Top diplomats from at least 12 countries are expected to gather at the envisioned meeting, expected to take place after Christmas.