Written by: Nasihah Hamid
The United States aggression of air strike in Syria on April 7, 2017 seems to be crossing the red lines that could lead into a war with Russia. It does not end there, another complicated scenario has emerged as the US sent the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and several warships towards Korean peninsula in a show off force by Trump administration a few days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its coast. But will there be a war? Is there any possibility that the US could attack North Korea?
According to Foster (2017), the US is highly improbable to attack North Korea because it could escalate tensions and possibly lead to nuclear war. On Tuesday, North Korea media clearly stated a warning for a nuclear strike on the US and will defend itself against any sign of American provocation or aggression with “a powerful force of arms”. State news agency KCNA quoting North Korea’s foreign ministry saying that the measures taken by the US naval deployment showed a reckless action of invading that has reached to a serious level. A report by BBC stating that the deployment has shown that North Korea is not wrong in developing nuclear weapons capability as it is use as self-defense and to break the initial attack of the enemy.
Previously, US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he would “solve the problem” of nuclear threats alone if China – North Korea’s closest ally did not give greater support in employing pressure on its neighbours. The tweet came in after a meeting with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president in Florida last week.
The meeting was likely to be one of US moves to persuade China to enforce existing restrictions on North Korea more meticulously. South Korea and China, a powerful ally of Pyongyang has warned that tougher sanction will be imposed on North Korea if it is continuously launching more missile tests in the future.
US and North Korea relationship is in a crucial state since a decade ago especially with several critical issues of nuclear weapons, development of long-range missiles and North Korea threats to strike the US. However, the battle seems a never ending story with each nation trying to provoke each other. In the end, will the war really happen? or is it just some sort of sheer intimidation?
References
BBC News. (2017, April 11). North Korea lashes out at US Navy strike group move. Retrieved April 12, 2017, from BBC News: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39561410
Foster, A. (2017, April 11). USA v North Korea? Will the US attack North Korea? Retrieved April 12, 2017, from Express.co.uk: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/790229/USA-v-North-Korea-will-US-attack-Pyongyang-missile-tests-nuclear-threat
Utusan Online. (2017, April 12). Korea Utara sedia berperang. Retrieved April 12, 2017, from Utusan Online: http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/luar-negara/korea-utara-8232-sedia-berperang-1.468299#nav-allsections