A temporary step back in US-North Korean tensions
By
Peter Symonds
17 August 2017
The Trump administration has pulled back, temporarily at least, from the brink of war with North Korea, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly put on hold plans to test fire four missiles into waters just short of Guam. The American territory, home to the Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam, would be centrally involved in any war on North Korea.
Kim warned of the missile test following Trump’s unprecedented threat last week to engulf North Korea in “fire and fury like the world has never seen”—that is, in nuclear war. On Tuesday, having reviewed the military plans, Kim declared he would wait “a little more” and watch “the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees.”
In a tweet yesterday, Trump appeared to dial back his inflammatory rhetoric, declaring: “Kim Jong-un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision. The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!”
The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains on a hair trigger, however. A mistake or miscalculation could set off a chain of events that could plunge the region and the world into a devastating war.
Next Monday, the US and South Korean militaries are due to begin large-scale war games that North Korea has bitterly opposed as a direct military threat. The annual exercises, known as Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, will last for 10 days and centre on computer simulations, as a rehearsal for war with North Korea.
The military drills, which inevitably will raise tensions with Pyongyang, also involve substantial numbers of troops. “The August exercises typically involve around 30,000 American soldiers and about 56,000 South Korean troops,” the New York Times reported. “The…