James Robbins
Kim Would Regret War
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un seems bent on making it easier for the United States to go to war. If he draws first blood, it may be the last thing he ever does.
On Monday, North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said that his country has "every right to make countermeasures, including the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country." Pyongyang has reportedly moved interceptor aircraft closer to the flight path of U.S. bombers that have been patrolling North Korea's periphery. Ri said that attacking U.S. forces was legal since "it was the U.S. who first declared war on our country," apparently referring to statements from President Donald Trump.
In fact, a state of conflict has existed since United Nations Security Council Resolution 84 was adopted on July 7, 1950, after North Korea invaded South Korea. Hostilities in the Korean War ended with the 1953 armistice agreement that mandated "complete cessation of all hostilities in Korea by all armed force." However, the planned subsequent final peace agreement was never reached, and the armistice is the principal legal barrier to this cold war turning hot.
The North Korea situation in general presents U.S. policymakers with a difficult challenge. Pyongyang seems committed to pursuing nuclear weapon and missile programs that pose increasing threats to the United States and the world. Economic sanctions and diplomatic measures have been ineffective in blunting North Korea's arms buildup. However, resorting to military action is problematic given the close proximity of South Korea's capital, Seoul, to the North Korean border, and the potential for Beijing to intervene on Pyongyang's behalf as it did the first time around. A conventional war could be devastating, and might escalate to the nuclear level. This risk matrix has effectively deterred the United States from taking overt military steps, but it has also allowed North Korea to become more threatening, which raises the cost of inaction.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/world-report/articles/2017-09-27/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-would-regret-starting-a-war-with-the-us
