Here’s why Seattle should be paying close attention to North Korea
Apr 11, 2017, 10:39 AM | Updated: 1:27 pm
Here in Seattle we obviously have an interest in keeping intercontinental ballistic missiles out of North Korea because we are such a close target.
RELATED: The High Priestess of Trumpism wouldn’t mind Seattle getting nuked
On Tuesday, President Trump kept the discussion about North Korea going, in his typical fashion.
I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2017
North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2017
His tweets come at a time when tension between the U.S. and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is high. The Associated Press reports North Korea has vowed “tough counteraction” to any military moves following the deployment of a naval strike group that leaders in Pyongyang called “reckless acts of aggression.”
Ted Carpenter, a fellow of Defense and Foreign Policy Studies at The Cato Institute, says Kim Jong-un is more ruthless than his father.
“[When] dealing with political opponents, [Kim Jong-un’s predecessors] sent them into exile or gave them prison terms,” Carpenter said. “Kim Jong Un executes them — even close family members. So this suggests a ruthless individual.”
So ruthless, in fact, that it has a retired general worried about the near future.
“One of the things coming at us … are the North Koreans,” Gen. Michael Hayden previously said. “I’ve famously written, to be provocative, that by the end of this term for Mr. Trump, North Korea will be able to reach this city, as in Seattle, with an indigenously-produced (intercontinental ballistic missile).”
And Carpenter says it will take more than simply cutting off food and aid to North Korea to get its leaders to cooperate.
“There’s a myth in the U.S. that China just needs to tell Kim Jong-un what to do,” he said. “That is a myth, and a dangerous one.”
Listen to the entire conversation with Carpenter below.
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