By Adam BrownsteinContributor
North Korea’s recent advances in the field of nuclear weaponry is a troublesome problem that President Trump and his administration is tasked with keeping under control. With that being said, the threat of North Korea having – let alone using – nuclear weapons is not a Democrat or Republican problem, but rather a problem that has the capability to threaten various countries across the globe.
In a poll conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which surveyed over 2,000 adults, a whopping 75 percent of people said that North Korea’s nuclear program is a critical threat facing the United States. On top of that, 84 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats agree on at least increasing sanctions against North Korea, 54 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats support airstrikes on North Korean facilities containing nuclear weaponry and 37 percent of Republicans and 24 percent of Democrats support sending U.S. troops to destroy said facilities.
Letting North Korea do what North Korea wants to do is an unpredictable situation. Something that can occur with that option is North Korea not doing anything with the weaponry, but there’s no guarantee that would occur. Not only is there the obvious threat of North Korea using said nuclear capabilities on a country, but there is also the possible threat of North Korea selling nuclear weaponry to a country or terrorist group like ISIS. The unknown scenarios of what the North Koreans will do makes this option not feasible, but that doesn’t mean a peaceful resolution is off the table.
On Sept. 21, President Trump issued new sanctions against the country of North Korea. To back that up, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared on Good Morning America on Sept. 22, and said, “We will continue our efforts in the diplomatic arena, but all our military options are on the table …” As of when this article was written, North Korea only issued statements condemning the new sanctions, but hasn’t done any testing outside North Korea. For now, the act of diplomacy seems to be working, but this is definitely not the first time the attempt of diplomacy has been tried with North Korea in regard to their nuclear capabilities.
Since 2003, the United States, along with China, South Korea, Japan and Russia have tried to handle the situation of North Korea’s nuclear advancements. These actions, such as on and off sanctions and promises of disarmament in return for aid, have only been short-lived solutions; so this option does not appear close to being the final solution to the problem.
Military intervention would certainly solve the issue of having any nuclear capabilities, but the various variables that could occur make this option a tricky situation. Not only does this option have the potential to trigger North Korea into using said weapons on a country, but the plan can also put the citizens of South Korea and the various troops stationed at the North-South Korean border at risk too.
At the end of the day, whatever solution(s) used to end the current nuclear threat of North Korea that is decided upon by President Trump will come about with the help of advisors and gathered intelligence on the issue. Whatever that decision is and the effect of the decision are certainly unknown until they occur, but nonetheless this issue cannot be left unattended to and whether you care about the situation or not, this is certainly something the U.S. and the rest of the world cannot ignore.
Adam Brownstein is the vice president of the Hofstra Republicans
The views and opinions expressed in the Editorial section are those of the authors of the articles. They are not an endorsement of the views of The Chronicle or its staff. The Chronicle does not discriminate based on the opinions of the authors.