Military tension on the Korean Peninsula is rising swiftly as the United States and North Korea continue to trade barbs.
On Thursday, North Korea elaborated on its threat to attack America’s Pacific island territory of Guam. In a statement carried by state media, General Kim Rak-gyom of the (North) Korean People’s Army said Pyongyang would finalize a plan by mid-August to fire four mid-range missiles hitting waters 30 to 40 kilometers away from the island. Kim said the plan will then go to Kim Jong-un, the commander-in-chief of the North’s nuclear force, and wait for his order.
Hours earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged North Korea to ``cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.’’ The Pentagon chief’s warning came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump surprised the world with his message to Kim, saying his country faced ` `fire and fury like the world has never seen.’’
The latest war of words between Washington and Pyongyang was sparked by a report by the Washington Post that North Korea was closer to being able to hit the U.S. with a nuclear armed missile than previously believed. Quoting a classified U.S. intelligence document, the newspaper said the North had mastered the ability to fit a nuclear warhead on its long-range missiles. The extent of Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities is still unclear. But pundits say its last remaining hurdle in developing nuclear missiles might be to obtain atmospheric re-entry technology applicable to an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The North’s strong rhetoric may be part of its typical brinkmanship seeking to turn the confrontation into dialogue after ramping up tension. But that the reclusive state is closer to completing its nuclear and missile programs is proven by the North’s five nuclear tests and numerous missile launches.
There is no need to panic about the latest tit-for-tat between the U.S. and North Korea. But complacency is unwarranted, given that the rogue state appears to be ready to cross a red line sooner or later. The most fearful scenario is that Pyongyang would intimidate Washington with its nuclear missiles and push American soldiers here out of South Korea to reunify the Korean Peninsula.
It would be fortunate if the escalation of the crisis on the peninsula ends up with an empty war of nerves. But their confrontation has already surpassed a perilous level.
What is clear is that there must not be even accidental clashes on the peninsula in consideration of the level of devastation that would follow. So the U.S. and North Korea should make efforts to seek a solution to the latter’s nuclear ambition through calm and sincere dialogue rather than escalating tension through an unnecessary verbal war.