Military action will not resolve Korean crisis

The US has sent aircraft carrier battle group and submarine in the Korean Peninsula; President Donald Trump warned a “major conflict” with North Korea was possible if diplomatic solutions fail; Senator John McCain said the US leader understood that military action was a last resort and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson mounted an effort at the United Nations to rally pressure against Kim Jong Un’s regime.
Despite all these, North Korea carried out ballistic missile test in defiance of world pressure. The missile, likely a medium-range KN-17 ballistic missile, broke up minutes after the launch. The US Pacific Command said it didn’t leave North Korean territory and posed no threat to North America.
North Korean leader Kim Jong un has conducted three nuclear tests since coming to power after the death of his father in 2011. Kim’s regime has also test-fired ballistic missiles six times this year, including a failed test earlier this month and launched dozens of projectiles. He claimed in January to be almost ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile that would threaten the continental US.
Trump is changing tack on North Korea by patting Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s back for pressing North Korea and saying the Chinese leader was “trying very hard.” Soon after the Saturday’s failed missile test, Trump said about a growing divergence between North Korea and its main ally China. “North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!” Before, Trump has warned that US will act alone if China fails to rein in Kim regime.
Now, it seems Trump’s threat and blandishments are working. China banned coal imports from North Korea this year. The Global Times, a nationalist newspaper affiliated with Communist Party, warned that another nuclear test might prompt oil curbs. According to Tillerson, China requested the Kim’s regime not to conduct further nuclear test. He also said if North Korea conducted a nuclear test, China would be taking sanctions actions on their own.
Although Trump has stepped up pressure on North Korea to prevent it from obtaining the capability to hit North America with a nuclear weapon, he is aware of the risks of a preemptive strike on North Korea. Pyongyang will likely conduct retaliatory artillery attack on the South Korean capital.
Tillerson told the Security Council that all of its members must share responsibility to resolve North Korean crisis. In a veiled reference to China and Russia, Tillerson demanded countries suspend North Korean imports, particularly coal, and stop accepting North Korean guest workers. But the US still has a long way to go to persuade them as it has rejected Beijing’s proposal to suspend military drills with South Korea in exchange for the North suspending its nuclear and missile programs.
There is a need to remain calm, exercise restraint and avoid provocative rhetoric or actions that could lead to dangerous escalations. There is a need to compel Kim regime to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs by cutting diplomatic and economic ties and fully implementing existing sanctions against North Korea. Pyongyang should be made to join negotiation table by its financial isolation with new and tighter sanctions. The armed conflict is not a desirable option.