2017 North Korea crisis
In 2017, North Korea has rapidly improved its nuclear weapons capability, escalating tensions against the United States and its allies. North Korea successfully conducted a series of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests and began threatening to attack the territories of the U.S. and South Korea. U.S. President Donald Trump said that military solutions are 'locked and loaded' against the North Korea threat.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated that the standoff between the U.S. and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program is comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Background
North Korea's nuclear weapons program
In his New Year’s Day speech, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, claimed that his country is in the “last stage” of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
On May 3, North Korea issued a rare and harshly worded criticism of its chief ally, China, stating that "One must clearly understand that the D.P.R.K.'s line of access to nukes for the existence and development of the country can neither be changed nor shaken And that the D.P.R.K. will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear program which is as precious as its own life, no matter how valuable the friendship is... China should no longer try to test the limits of the D.P.R.K.'s patience China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the D.P.R.K.-China relations." The harsh commentary also accused the Chinese media (which is tightly controlled by the government) of dancing to the tune of the U.S.
In August 2017, the Washington Post reported on a confidential assessment carried out by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency which suggested that North Korea had successfully developed nuclear warheads for missiles within reach of the US mainland.
USS Carl Vinsons movements
Following the April 3, 2017 U.S. missile strikes in Shayrat, Syria in response to the chemical attack, tensions had mounted as President Trump weighed further military options against North Korea's ballistic missile program. In the second week of April 2017, global media outlets erroneously reported that the USS Carl Vinson had been deployed to the Sea of Japan heading towards North Korea, as a result of confusion created by a "miscommunication" between the "Pentagon and the White House." A premature announcement on April 8 from the Navy led to a "glitch-ridden sequence of events". In reality on April 18, the Carl Vinson and its escorts were 3,500 miles from Korea engaged in scheduled joint Royal Australian Navy exercises in the Indian Ocean. On April 24 the Japanese destroyers and Samidare participated with the USS Carl Vinson in tactical training drills near the Philippines; North Korea threatened to sink her with a single strike. The Carl Vinson aircraft carrier had been in the South China Sea in 2015 and again in February 2017 on routine patrols. In late April 2017, Trump stated that "here is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea." In July 2017, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson authorized a "Geographical Travel Restriction" which banned Americans from entering North Korea.
THAAD in South Korea
Against the North Korean missile threat, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea. It has faced strong oppositions from China, Russia, and North Korea.
Confrontations
On July 4, 2017, North Korea successfully conducted its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), named Hwasong-14. It conducted another test on 28 July. On August 5, 2017, the UN unanimously imposed further sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear program. North Korea responded saying that it was a "violent violation of our sovereignty" and that it would make the US "pay the price for its crime... thousands of times"
On August 8, 2017, President Donald Trump warned that North Korean nuclear threats "will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before". North Korea responded by announced it was considering plans to attack US military bases in the US territory of Guam. On August 10, 2017, North Korean Lt. Gen. Kim Rak-gyom responded to Trumps speech of "fire and fury", saying his words are "nonsense" and asserting that "reasonable dialog" wasn't possible with Trump as president of the US. The North Korean governmental news agency KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un's military will be able to fire four ICBMs, type Hwasong-12, into the Philippine Sea just 30-40 kilometres away from the island Guam itself. The flight time of their Hwasong-12 will be exactly 17 minutes and 45 seconds. (This plan could possibly be put into effect mid August, 2017, according to the KCNA). U.S. fficials stated that Joseph Y. Yun, the US envoy for North Korea policy, and Pak Song-il, a senior North Korean diplomat at the country’s UN mission, were making regular contact during this dispute, through a conduit of communication they called the New York channel.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated that the standoff between the U.S. and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program is comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Background
North Korea's nuclear weapons program
In his New Year’s Day speech, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, claimed that his country is in the “last stage” of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
On May 3, North Korea issued a rare and harshly worded criticism of its chief ally, China, stating that "One must clearly understand that the D.P.R.K.'s line of access to nukes for the existence and development of the country can neither be changed nor shaken And that the D.P.R.K. will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear program which is as precious as its own life, no matter how valuable the friendship is... China should no longer try to test the limits of the D.P.R.K.'s patience China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the D.P.R.K.-China relations." The harsh commentary also accused the Chinese media (which is tightly controlled by the government) of dancing to the tune of the U.S.
In August 2017, the Washington Post reported on a confidential assessment carried out by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency which suggested that North Korea had successfully developed nuclear warheads for missiles within reach of the US mainland.
USS Carl Vinsons movements
Following the April 3, 2017 U.S. missile strikes in Shayrat, Syria in response to the chemical attack, tensions had mounted as President Trump weighed further military options against North Korea's ballistic missile program. In the second week of April 2017, global media outlets erroneously reported that the USS Carl Vinson had been deployed to the Sea of Japan heading towards North Korea, as a result of confusion created by a "miscommunication" between the "Pentagon and the White House." A premature announcement on April 8 from the Navy led to a "glitch-ridden sequence of events". In reality on April 18, the Carl Vinson and its escorts were 3,500 miles from Korea engaged in scheduled joint Royal Australian Navy exercises in the Indian Ocean. On April 24 the Japanese destroyers and Samidare participated with the USS Carl Vinson in tactical training drills near the Philippines; North Korea threatened to sink her with a single strike. The Carl Vinson aircraft carrier had been in the South China Sea in 2015 and again in February 2017 on routine patrols. In late April 2017, Trump stated that "here is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea." In July 2017, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson authorized a "Geographical Travel Restriction" which banned Americans from entering North Korea.
THAAD in South Korea
Against the North Korean missile threat, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea. It has faced strong oppositions from China, Russia, and North Korea.
Confrontations
On July 4, 2017, North Korea successfully conducted its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), named Hwasong-14. It conducted another test on 28 July. On August 5, 2017, the UN unanimously imposed further sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear program. North Korea responded saying that it was a "violent violation of our sovereignty" and that it would make the US "pay the price for its crime... thousands of times"
On August 8, 2017, President Donald Trump warned that North Korean nuclear threats "will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before". North Korea responded by announced it was considering plans to attack US military bases in the US territory of Guam. On August 10, 2017, North Korean Lt. Gen. Kim Rak-gyom responded to Trumps speech of "fire and fury", saying his words are "nonsense" and asserting that "reasonable dialog" wasn't possible with Trump as president of the US. The North Korean governmental news agency KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un's military will be able to fire four ICBMs, type Hwasong-12, into the Philippine Sea just 30-40 kilometres away from the island Guam itself. The flight time of their Hwasong-12 will be exactly 17 minutes and 45 seconds. (This plan could possibly be put into effect mid August, 2017, according to the KCNA). U.S. fficials stated that Joseph Y. Yun, the US envoy for North Korea policy, and Pak Song-il, a senior North Korean diplomat at the country’s UN mission, were making regular contact during this dispute, through a conduit of communication they called the New York channel.
Comments