According to the New York Times, the North Koreans told the world that their sixth nuclear test was a hydrogen bomb, and although that’s not been proven yet, the Chinese and South Koreans claim that they felt tremors from the massive explosion. President Trump responded;
Mr. Trump hinted at one extreme option: In a Twitter post just before he met his generals, he said that “the United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.’’
Taken literally, such a policy would be tantamount to demanding a stoppage of any Chinese oil to North Korea, essentially an attempt to freeze out the country this winter and bring whatever industry it has to a halt.
The Chinese would almost certainly balk; they have never been willing to take steps that might lead to the collapse of the North Korean regime, no matter how dangerous its behavior, for fear that South Korean and American troops would occupy the country and move directly to the Chinese border.
According to the Washington Post, the South Koreans responded with bombing run drills;
As if to underline Seoul’s willingness to be tough, the South Korean military conducted bombing drills at dawn Monday, practicing ballistic missile strikes on the North Korean nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.
The South Korean military calculated the distance to the site and practiced having F-15 jet fighters accurately hit the target, the joint chiefs of staff said Monday morning.
“This drill was conducted to send a strong warning to North Korea for its sixth nuclear test,” it said.
The NYT reports on Defense Secretary Mattis’ public response;
After meeting with Mr. Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis emerged to warn North Korea that “any threat to the United States or its territory, including Guam or our allies, will be met with a massive military response.” But Mr. Mattis, in a terse statement delivered on the White House driveway with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., also offered a word of reassurance to the North’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong-un.
“We are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea,” he said. “But as I said, we have many options to do so.”
Meanwhile, the Washington Post’s editorial board is asking the Trump Administration to capitulate to North Korea and immediately surrender;
There is no military solution to this crisis. Despite President Trump’s bluster a few weeks ago about “fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before,” a war would engulf Seoul, only 35 miles from the inter-Korean border. Nothing is wrong with displays of strength designed to deter the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, but ultimately the danger he poses cannot be resolved by U.S. preemptive action without huge costs for both Koreas.
The editorial board seems to support more Clinton-esque bribery for the North, despite the fact that North Korea only uses the proceeds to further their nuclear program.
Stars & Stripes reports that South Korea is preparing to activate four more Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers to defend from a North Korean missile attack.
