Firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea near South Korea, 38-year-old North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un wants attention from Washington, completely ignored since the Feb. 24 Ukraine War. Unlike the Trump administration that made peace overtures to North Korea, 79-year-old President Joe Biden has his hands full with the Russian Federation and Communist China. South Korea and Japan find it unnerving when Kim decides to fire of ballistic missiles from his Tongchon launch site on North Korea’s Northeastern coast. South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said the two ballistic missiles flews 230 kilometers [140 miles] at an altitude of 24 kilometers [15 miles]. Seoul called the launches a “grave provocation” that undermines regional peace and stability. Kim has been firing random missile launches for years, trying to gain financial concessions from the U.S.
Biden has done nothing on the North Korea diplomacy front, especially knowing its hands are full in Ukraine and Taiwan. Kim’s known for firing off missiles when the U.S. and South Korea engage in annual military drills. South Korea completed in 12-day “Hoguk” field exercises jointly carried out with the U.S. military. Next week South Korea and the U.S. expect to conduct large-scale air-defense drills using U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. What happens with Kim next week is anyone’s guess. Last September Kim launched numerous ballistic missiles over the Sea of Japan, triggering air-raid sirens in major Japanese cities. Next week’s “Vigilant storm,” involving 140 South Korean aircraft and 100 U.S. F-35 could push Kim over the edge, firing off more ballistic missiles. Ignoring Kim comes with more peril for the U.S. and South Korea, creating instability between the two Koreas.
Gone are the days when former President Donald Trump met with Kim June 30, 2019 in North Korea, the first U.S. president to get the invite. Trump and Kim had their go-arounds but eventually developed a good working relationship. Had Trump stayed in office, it’s possible Kim might have visited the White House, continuing to exchange economic and cultural activities. Since Trump left office, Kim has been ignored by the White House, viewed as a nuisance, a persona non grata. Prospects for improving U.S.-North Korean relations are slim-and-none, now that Biden has started a proxy war wit the Russian Federation. Kim is a close ally of Putin, someone in the past the U.S. could count on to deal with potential crises. Biden finds himself mired in the Ukraine War, without any time to deal with North Korea or any other U.S. adversary. So, since the Ukraine War, the U.S. finds itself isolated from China.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei Aug. 4 slapped Chinese President Xi Jinping in the face, ignoring Xi’s request to avoid provocation. Xi sees Taiwan as a part of Mainland China, much the same way he saw Hong Kong before the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, eventually suppressing any pro-Western elements. Taiwan, because of its long history with the U.S. is a different kettle of fish. Since President Dwight D. Eisenhower sighed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in 1954, the U.S. obligated itself to defend Taiwan against any Mainland military adventure. When President Jimmy Carter signed the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, it officially ended the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. Yet Biden said he would defend Taiwan with U.S. troops Sept. 18, further infuriating Beijing. Since the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, no president has made that commitment.
Whatever happens on the Korean Peninsula, there’s little Biden can do with his hand tied in Ukraine and in Taiwan with Communist China. One wrong move in Ukraine could start WW III or nuclear war or a mistake in Taiwan could start a full-blown war with Communist China. Who does Biden think is going fight his two-front war, defending Kiev and Taipei at the same time? Pentagon troop availability in the voluntary military is too thin to handle one war, let alone two, requiring the Pentagon to re-institute the U.S. draft. Kim can fire ballistic missiles at North Korean and Japan knowing that Biden’s hands are tied between Ukraine and Taiwan. When it comes to the case for ending the Ukraine War, the State Department can do very little with Russia until the war ends. Poor WNBA Star Brittney Griner stuck in limbo in a Russian jail because Biden continues to fight his proxy war wit the Kremlin.
Before Biden opens up a third front between South and North Korea, he’d better end the Ukraine War, telling U.N. peacekeepers to do their jobs. Whatever objections from Kiev, Biden must stay firm, knowing that the war does nothing but wreck U.S.-Russian relations. If a skirmish breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, what would Biden do or go to for help. When it comes to Communist China, Biden walks on thin ice making statements he’d defend Taiwan when it’s not part of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. Carter signed off that the U.S. would recognize only one China, the one in Beijing. So what’s Biden doing saying he would defense Taiwan with U.S. troops? Biden has put no troops in Ukraine knowing it could spark WW III. Putting troops in Taiwan would spark WW III with Communist China, with China’s allies, including Russia and North Korea, rushing to defend the Beijing regime.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
