It seems that when President Trump goes on these foreign trips he likes to stick to his prepared script which really seems to help articulate the message he is trying to make. I think the message to North Korea was made quite clear during his speech to the ROK National Assembly:
President Donald Trump speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Trump was on a two-day official visit to South Korea, the second stop on his 12-day tour of Asia. / Yonhap
U.S. President Donald Trump stressed “peace through strength” in his speech at the National Assembly, Wednesday, giving a stern warning to North Korea.
“The regime has interpreted America’s past restraint as weakness,” Trump said referring to North Korea.“Do not underestimate us.Do not try us.We will defend our common security, our shared prosperity and our sacred liberty.”
The U.S.president cited the country’s military assets deployed around the peninsula ― the world’s three largest aircraft carriers, loaded to the maximum with F-35 and F-18 fighter jets, in addition to nuclear submarines.
“The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer,” Trump said.“We will offer a path to a much better future,” he added, on the condition of Pyongyang’s “total denuclearization.”
This was the first address by a sitting American leader here in nearly a quarter century.South Korean lawmakers applauded the speech 22 times, particularly when the American leader lauded the nation’s flourishing democracy and eye-opening economic development.
The U.S.leader dedicated most of his 35-minute speech to awakening the atrocities taking place in North Korea ― forced labor, starvation, sexual exploitation, murder and torture ― labeling the country as “hell.”
“The regime has made numerous lethal incursions in South Korea, attempted to assassinate senior leaders, attacked South Korean ships and tortured Otto Warmbier, ultimately leading to that fine young man’s death.”
He highlighted its stark difference with the southern part of the peninsula that features the “stunning skyline of Seoul.” The president described the armistice line between the two Koreas as a line “between peace and war, between decency and depravity, between law and tyranny, between hope and total despair.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link and you can watch his full comments at the below video:
Overall I was pretty impressed with his speech especially when he highlights all the human rights abuses happening in North Korea which is often overlooked by politicians and the media.
This is something that many people who don’t understand missile defense think until they realize the physics behind it:
U.S. President Donald Trump has said Japan should have shot down the North Korean missiles that flew over the country before landing in the Pacific Ocean earlier this year, diplomatic sources have said, despite the difficulties and potential ramifications of doing so.
The revelation came ahead of Trump’s arrival in Japan on Sunday at the start of his five-nation trip to Asia. Threats from North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs were set to be high on the agenda in his talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday.
Trump questioned Japan’s decision not to shoot down the missiles when he met or spoke by phone with leaders from Southeast Asian countries over recent months to discuss how to respond to the threats from North Korea, the sources said.
The U.S. president said he could not understand why a country of samurai warriors did not shoot down the missiles, the sources said. [Japan Times]
You can read more at the link, but the reason is quite simple why the missiles were not shot down. The missile were flying 770 kilometers above the country in outer space; this is higher than the international space station. The Japanese Aegis ships and Patriot interceptors cannot engage missiles flying that high. To shoot down the missiles the Aegis ship would have to be located out in the ocean where the missile was coming down at. There is no way the Japanese would could have known when and where North Korea was going to fire the missile at to have a ship sitting there waiting to shoot it down.
The real story here is why are diplomatic sources leaking this information to the news media? This is a natural question that many people wondered initially after North Korea fired the missile over Japan. I would hope by now someone has briefed President Trump on missile defense capabilities.
Released by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 4, 2017, this composite photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the March 16 Factory, a truck manufacturing plant, with officials. (Yonhap)
If President Trump did want to meet with Kim Jong-un I hope it is not in North Korea where it would be a propaganda bonanza for the regime. Instead the meeting should be at the United Nations which was the organization that officially fought the Korean War. Forcing Kim to come to New York would mitigate any propaganda value of a meeting and show how serious the regime is about talks in my opinion:
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would “certainly be open” to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as he embarked on his first trip to Asia last week.
In an interview aired Sunday, Trump was asked on U.S. news program “Full Measure” whether he would sit down with a dictator.
“I would sit with anybody I feel,” the president said. “I don’t think it’s strength or weakness. I think sitting down with people is not a bad thing. So I would certainly be open to doing that.”
He made no commitment, though, saying, “But we’ll see where it goes. I think we’re far too early.” [Yonhap]
I think President Trump couldn’t care less what the Kim regime thinks of what he says:
This file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 24, 2017, shows North Koreans holding a mass anti-U.S. rally in Pyongyang on Sept. 23, 2017. (Yonhap)
North Korea threatened “merciless punishment” on U.S. President Donald Trump over “foolish remarks” on Sunday, two days before his state visit to South Korea.
The Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper and organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), published a commentary accusing Trump of “seriously stimulating” North Korea with his words.
Trump kicked off his Asia tour in Japan earlier Sunday. He’s scheduled to land in South Korea on Tuesday for a summit with President Moon Jae-in during his two-day visit.
Trump has engaged in a war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, referring to Kim as “Little Rocket Man” and threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea.
In the report carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Rodong Sinmun argued Trump must heed assertions from other U.S. experts that he must “halt the reckless blackmail and take hands off the Korean affairs.”
“Nobody can predict when Trump does a reckless act. The only and one way for checking his rash act is to tame him with absolute physical power,” the report said in English. “If the U.S. misjudges (North Korea’s) toughest will and dares to act recklessly, the latter will be compelled to deal a resolute and merciless punishment upon the former with the mobilisation of all forces. The U.S. has no energy to prevent it. Then its regret is too late.” [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I am really curious to see if President Trump will use this trip to South Korea to make a “tear down this wall” type of speech towards North Korea?
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t remember any lawmakers asking questions about how many casualties there would be in Libya and Syria before the Obama administration promoted conflicts in those two countries:
The only way to locate and destroy with complete certainty all components of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is through a ground invasion. That blunt assessment from the Pentagon is in response to a letter from two Democratic congressmen asking about casualty assessments in a conflict with North Korea.
Rear Adm. Michael J. Dumont of the Joint Staff offered the assessment in response to a letter from Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
Dumont noted that the U.S. is evaluating North Korea’s ability to target heavily populated areas of South Korea with long-range artillery, rockets and ballistic missiles. He also pointed out that Seoul, the South’s capital with a population of 25 million, is just 35 miles from the demilitarized zone. The amount of casualties would differ depending on the advance warning and the ability of U.S. and South Korea forces to counter these attacks, he said.
“A classified briefing would be the best place to discuss in detail the capability of the U.S. and its allies to discuss capabilities to counter North Korea’s ability to respond with a nuclear weapon and eliminate North Korea’s nuclear weapons located in deeply buried, underground facilities,” he said. He also mentioned the possibility that chemical and biological weapons might be used by the North in case of a conflict.
Military officials would be happy to join “the intelligence community to address these issues in a classified briefing,” he said.
In a joint statement issued Saturday, 15 Democratic lawmakers and one Republican— all military veterans — called the assessment that a ground invasion would be required to destroy the North’s nuclear arsenal “deeply disturbing” and that such an action “could result in hundreds of thousands, or even millions of deaths in just the first few days of fighting.”
“It is our intent to have a full public accounting of the potential cost of war, so the American people understand the commitment we would be making as a nation if we were to pursue military action,” the lawmakers said.
They also said the Trump administration “has failed to articulate any plans to prevent the military conflict from expanding beyond the Korean Peninsula and to manage what happens after the conflict is over.”
“With that in mind, the thought of sending troops into harm’s way and expending resources on another potentially unwinnable war is chilling. The President needs to stop making provocative statements that hinder diplomatic options and put American troops further at risk,” they said. [Associated Press]
I think the assessment that needs to be made is not a ground invasion, but what would happen in the aftermath of a limited bombing strike on their strategic facilities? Would the Kim regime respond with a ground war that would lead to regime change and them getting the Muammar Gaddafi treatment?
