Test firing what looks like a new Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ICBM] on July 4, only days before the G20 Summit in Hamburg German, 33-year North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un inserted himself into global headlines. Working feverishly to produce a nuclear-packed ICBM, the world’s last Stalinist state seeks to blackmail the United States, Japan, South Korean and other Western powers. North Korea’s Academy of Defense Science boasted the latest launch of a Hwasong 14 ballistic missile marks a new development in ICBM technology. Calling the launch the “final step” in building a “confident and powerful nuclear state that can strike anywhere on Earth,” the Academy proclaimed success with an ICBM. Heading to the G20, Trump has a new agenda he must thread through-through a-needle, requiring cooperation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When former President Barack Obama evicted 35 Russian diplomats Dec. 30, 2016 for alleged meddling in the 2016 election, he sunk U.S.-Russian relations to the lowest point since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Accused by Democrats and the press of colluding with Russia to win the presidency, Trump walks a dangerous line dealing with Putin, with Russia hysteria sweeping Capitol Hill. Since taking office Jan. 20, Trump has been road-blocked by Congressional war hawks from making any overtures to Moscow. Isolated now, Trump must decide what’s best for U.S. national security, not for the Democratic Party or liberal news organizations. Meeting with Putin July 7, Trump must find a way to bridge differences, get on the same page and work together on common national security threats, like North Korea and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], all requiring Putin’s help.
Both China and Russia are North Korea’s biggest trading partners, capable of applying leverage against Kim’s nuclear ambitions. Whatever China has done to curb Kim’s pursuit of a nuclear-armed ICBM, it hasn’t stopped Kim from testing more advance ballistic missiles. While it’s helpful that China or possibly Russia wants to lend a hand with North Korea, Trump knows that the window for diplomacy is closing. Whether or not Kim fired an ICBM, he’s advancing toward the goal of challenging the U.S. and its allies with an atomic ICBM, capable of hitting Alaska or other parts of the continental United States. Trump’s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Minister James “Mad Dog” Mattis warned Kim that the days of “strategic patience” are ending. Japanese and South Korean scientists said the Hwasong 14 flew for 40 minutes at an altitude of 2,500 kilometers [1,500 miles] for 580 miles.
However scientists debate whether Kim fired an intermediate range or ICBM is of little relevance, since it’s clear the regime has refined its ballistic missile technology. U.S. missile scientist David Wright thinks the missile could have traveled 6,700 kilometers [4,160 miles] at a lower altitude, putting U.S. bases in Alaska at risk. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former commanding officer of British Armed Forces Joint Biological Radiological Nuclear Regimen, believes Kim is dangerously close, if not there, to an ICBM. These findings present Trump with a real dilemma heading to the G20, knowing he must reset U.S.-Russian relations, compromise with Putin on seized Russian missions in Washington and Maryland. Capitol Hill war hawks, like Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), need to stop the Russian hysteria and let Trump deal with Putin as commander-in-chief.
Heading to a military confrontation with Pyongyang, Trump’s job at the G20 is to reestablish ties with Putin, make whatever concessions needed and have a united front on dealing with North Korea. Trump needs to know that whatever the U.S. must do stop Kim’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, the Russians and Chinese understand the threat to U.S. national security. Pushing the situation to the brink is the only way to get Kim back to the bargaining table. Chinese chief diplomat Yang Jiechi and top Gen. Fang Fenghui committed with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis June 23 to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer . . “ tweeted Trump, hoping for a solution.
Slapping North Korea with more Security Council resolutions or sanctions won’t change Kim’s feverish pursuit of nuclear weapons and ICBM. Hoping to de-escalate the crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wi called on the U.S. and South Korea to give up joint military exercises in exchange for Kim halting his nuclear and ballistic missile program. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both seek “peaceful atmosphere of mutual trust” to encourage a new round of disarmament talks. Talks broke off in 2009 when Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il protested the Security Council’s attempt to limit ballistic missile testing. While there’s nothing wrong with more diplomacy, neither Russia nor China has been threatened by North Korea with nuclear war. Preventing Kim from getting a nuclear-armed ICBM is top of Trump’s priority list.
