DAVE ROSS

Ross: Dangers of impatience with North Korea are the size of a grapefruit

Apr 20, 2017, 8:04 AM | Updated: 10:39 am

A report in the Washington Post says Vice President Mike Pence is taking a hard line on North Korea – it must abandon its nuclear programs without any promise of direct negotiations.

RELATED: Here’s why Seattle should be paying close attention to N. Korea

Phillip Yun, who runs the Ploughshares Fund, is worried.

“[Vice President] Pence and others have said that the era of strategic patience is over and they’re implying that there’s a completely new policy,” Yun told me. “More pressure, more sanctions. We’ve done that, it didn’t work.”

Yun is all about getting rid of nukes. But threats, he says, won’t work, and the reason is simple.

“When I talk with the North Koreans, they keep on saying, ‘How is it that the United States, the most powerful country that’s ever existing, is so afraid of a tiny little country in northeast Asia?'” Yun said. “And I said, ‘Well, it’s because of your provocative behavior and how you do all of this.’ And they said, ‘Well, we have more reason to be afraid of you than you have from us.'”

Which is why he says Kim Jong-un will never abandon his nukes.

RELATED: N. Korea is Trump’s first major international problem

As for us launching an attack? Well, we’d win, but the catch is that North Korea has been producing a 17-pound ball of plutonium every two months.

“We’re talking about a grapefruit size of plutonimum or highly enriched uranium that’s easily smuggled out,” Yun said.

If the regime falls, the smugglers won’t waste any time.

“What happens is, if that grapefruit-sized material leaves,” Yun said. “Chances are — I’d say 95 percent, 100 percent — that it will explode somewhere in the United States, Europe or Israel.”

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

3 days ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

10 days ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

30 days ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

1 month ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

1 month ago

Super Bowl celebration...

Dave Ross

Ross: The NFL does it again

The NFL once again put on a show that was able to keep me tuned in for four hours even though I had no stake in either team.

1 month ago

Ross: Dangers of impatience with North Korea are the size of a grapefruit