White
House is Considering Direct Military Action to
"Counter" North Korea
By David Choi
March 03,
2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- "Business
Insider"
-
In a dramatic shift
from traditional policy, an internal White House
review on North Korea strategy revealed that the
option to use military force or a regime change
to curb the threat of North Korean nuclear
weapons was on the table,
The Wall Street Journal reported
on Wednesday.
This review comes at the heels of a report
claiming President Donald Trump believed the "greatest
immediate threat"
to the US was North Korea's nuclear program.
Recent
provocations from the Hermit Kingdom, including
the ballistic missile launch in the Sea of Japan
and the killing of Kim Jong Un's estranged
half-brother in Malaysia, may have provoked this
shift in the policy that have many officials and
US allies worried.
"North Korea just stated that it is in the final
stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of
reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!"
Trump tweeted
in January. Several weeks later, North Korea
conducted its missile test.
Since
then, Deputy National Security Adviser K.T.
McFarland consulted with other officials to
address North Korea's fresh series of
provocations. In the meeting, held about two
weeks ago, the officials discussed the
possibility of a plan "outside the mainstream,"
The Journal reported.
According
to The Journal, McFarland requested for all
options to overhaul American policy toward North
Korea — including for the US to recognize North
Korea as a nuclear state and the possibility of
a direct military conflict.
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The
proposals, which are being vetted before Trump's
review, would certainly be met with worry from
China, a longtime ally of North Korea that
recently responded with an
export ban
against North Korea's coal industry.
Additionally, many experts fear that a direct
military conflict would spark all-out warfare,
including artillery barrages directed at Seoul,
South Korea's capital.
Even
more
worrisome is
the possibility for further North Korean
provocations, which may influence the recent
policy shift, as early as this month. As the US
and its ally South Korea conduct "Foal Eagle"
and "Key Resolve," their annual military
exercises that involve 17,000 US troops and
Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems,
experts say provocations from North Korea will
be likely.
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© 2017 Business Insider Inc
