North Korea Missile Tests, 'Very Standard' to Trump, Show Signs of Advancing Arsenal

[soryang]

1. What efforts at a diplomatic solution?

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters Wednesday that “we are concerned” about North Korea’s missile tests, but that “we’re not going to overreact” in the interest of preserving efforts at a diplomatic solution.

The US administration does not agree with a step by step process of action for action to build trust on the basis of reciprocity. The US approach is an unrealistic “all or nothing” approach causing the negotiations to deadlock as occurred at the Hanoi summit. The practical effect of the US negotiating posture has severely restricted South Korea's freedom to offer incentives to North Korea to engage in further dialogue with itself or the US.

The US position is little more than the standard hard line regime change position of the neocons disguised as something else with con man Trump out in front.

The conception that there is a "loophole" being exploited by Kim Jong Un fails to consider that the UN resolution restricting missile and nuclear testing by North Korea does not have an enforcement mechanism against testing of short range missiles. Therefore, the US has only the unilateral initiatives it may consider, with whatever powers in its coalition would be willing to go along.

The White House loathes the progressive Moon Jae In democratic party government of South Korea. The US defense interests want to increase South Korean payments to the US for defense costs by 500 percent, increase ROK commitments to out of area Indo-Pacific operations; deploy intermediate range ballistic missiles and more THAAD launchers in South Korea; and have South Korea buy into an integrated Aegis air defense system in the region with US and Japanese forces. Unlikely to get much cooperation on these issues from the progressive Moon Jae In administration in South Korea.

Additionally, the US wants South Korea to renew its intelligence sharing agreement with Japan in spite of Japan's trade war against South Korea which it claims is based upon "national security" concerns and distrust of South Korea in that respect. Meanwhile the US continues to develope and test missile weapon systems of all kinds, withdrawing from nuclear treaties , selling advanced fighter aircraft to South Korea and Japan, and encouraging Japan to circumvent constitutional restrictions on offensive military operations.