Agreeing to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula, the United State and China sent a loud message to 33-year-old North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un that he must abide by U.N. resolutions demanding that North Korea cease all nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Unlike the days when North Korea with China’s help battle the U.S. and South Korea to a standoff July 27, 1953 signing an armistice, China no longer defends North Korea’s actions. Only four years after the Maoist Revolution in China, the Korean War was China’s way to prevent American capitalists from gaining a foothold in North Korea, dividing North and South Korea on the 38 parallel. Nowhere on the planet are the contrasts greater between the Communist North and Capitalist South, where South Korean has become the 11th most powerful world economy, ranked behind Canada at a nominal GDP of $1,411 trillion.
North Korea ranks about 125th in world GDP, wedged at $12 billion between Mauritius and Albania, proving that the world’s last Stalinist state continues abysmal economic failure. High-level talks between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and China’s Chief Diplomat Yan Jiechi and Gen. Fang Fenghui, endorsed by President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, arrived at an agreement to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula. “Both sides reaffirm that they will strive for complete, verifiable and irreversible de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” reported China’s official Xinhua New Agency. Sending a unified message to Pyongyang, Beijing and Washington put Kim on notice that any more nuclear tests will be met with dire consequences. Signing the consensus document on the Korean Peninsula is a game-changer.
North Korea no longer has Russian or Chinese communist allies to battle the U.S. should 71-year-old President Donald Trump decide he has to take military action against North Korea to stop a nuclear threat on the U.S. homeland. Since the armistice was signed 64 years ago, the hermit regime kept to itself before it started testing nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles in 2006. Neither former Presidents George W. Bush nor Barack Obama did much to stop North Korea’s uranium or plutonium enrichment programs, leading to North Korea’s Hwasong 12 intermediate-rang missile with a range of about 1,500 nautical miles. Most ballistic missile and nuclear weapons expert believe North Korean is getting closer to an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ICBM] capable of hitting the U.S. homeland. Unlike Bush and Obama, Trump expressed his commitment to stop Kim’s pursuit of an ICBM.
Today’s consensus document between the U.S. and China emphasizes the need to strictly adhere to U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding North Korea stop all nuclear and ballistic missile testing. Kim believes his only effective deterrent against a potential U.S. invasion is to possess ICBMs with nuclear delivery systems. Also discussed in the document were military-to-military mechanisms to prevent any “judgment errors” between the U.S. and Chinese militaries. Signing the consensus agreement with China, the Trump White House took the closest step in U.S. history to partner and coordinate to deal with a growing North Korean nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula. Generations of U.S. leaders dealt with China at an arm’s length, especially when it came to North Korea. Xi’s April 6 meeting with Trump at his Palm Beach Mar-a-Lago golf resort cemented the relationship.
Returning college student Otto Warmbier June 13 brain-dead after 17 months in North Korean captivity upped the stakes after Warmbier died June 17 from irreversible brain damage. No one knows for sure how North Korea tortured Warmbier over the last 17 months leaving him in a persistent vegetative state. Trump’s made it clear to China that North Korea’s Kim Jong-un no longer enjoys the free reign since 2006 to continue developing nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles. Trump’s on record stating that China’s done everything possible to contain North Korea’s nuclear threat, suggesting that any further nuclear testing could result in a U.S. military strike. Only 35 miles from the demilitarized zone, residents of Seoul feel the heat with today’s developments. While there’s some hope of cooperation between the U.S. and China, time’s running out on Kim Jong-un.
Signing a consensus agreement to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. and China served notice to North Korea that it must stop its nuclear and ballistic missile program. Kim finds himself more isolated than ever with China taking the U.S. side when it comes to nuke and missile activities. If U.N. resolutions and sanctions won’t stop Kim’s nuke and ballistic missile programs, then South Korea must brace itself for possible U.S. military action. Already threatening the U.S. with nuclear annihilation, Trump can’t sit idly by while Kim threatens the U.S. homeland. China understands the gravity of the situation with North Korea threatening the U.S. with nuclear war. Trump’s effort to strengthen U.S.-Chinese relations only helps contain a growing North Korean nuclear threat. China wants to resolve things through diplomacy but knows Trump’s getting to the end of his rope.
