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Inevitable that North Korea will be a nuclear weapons state

The inevitability of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, WP, By Adam Taylor July 28 17, “…..North Korea appeared to launch another missile just after 11 p.m. local time on Friday, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.

The exact details of the launch are still coming out, and it remains unclear if the missile was capable of reaching the continental United States. However, the launch itself is not a shock. Advancements in North Korea’s weapons program have become a fact of life. The debate about when Pyongyang would theoretically be able to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile has shifted from “if” to “when.”…..

First, North Korea has nuclear weapons — perhaps as many as 30, according to a former U.N. weapons inspector — and it’s not going to willingly give them up. Kim Jong Un knows what happened to leaders such as Libya’s Moammar Gaddafi and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein after they gave up their own weapons programs. The ship for denuclearization has almost certainly sailed.

Meanwhile, North Korea may soon be able to put a nuclear weapon on a missile that could hit the United States. Pyongyang keeps testing missiles, dramatically improving its weapons technology in the process.

Then there’s the catch: Any attempt to use force to destroy North Korea’s weapons systems probably would be catastrophic….. In the event of a military strike on North Korea’s nuclear sites, Seoul could ……it is unclear what the Trump administration’s plan for North Korea is — even whether a military strike is off the table…..

Then there is the president himself, a man who seems to prize his own unpredictability and rashness. …..If Trump is resigned to a North Korea with nuclear weapons, it may not be a bad thing…..

In the past, Trump has suggested he might be open to talks with Kim or other inventive options. Although there’s no guarantee these efforts will work, they seem to be less risky than military actions. ….https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/07/28/the-inevitability-of-north-koreas-nuclear-weapons/?utm_term=.db9780d66790

July 29, 2017 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, politics international