In the summer of 1994 the Clinton administration seriously considered attacking North Korea's nuclear facilities at Yongbyon to prevent the recovery of raw nuclear material for the development nuclear weapons. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the military strike never came to fruition. What happened next nearly succeeded in fully ending North Korea's nuclear weapons development. North Korea, South Korea and the United States started negotiations which became the Agreed Framework.
Those talks resulted in an agreement which stated: South Korea would construct a light water reactor incapable of producing weapons grade plutonium, but provide much needed electricity to the North Koreans. Just prior to the end of President Clinton's term in office it was discovered that the North Koreans had resumed their pursuit of building and deploying nuclear weapons and the agreement collapsed. George W. Bush's election didn't lead to further talks with the North and were further soured when in his 2002 State of the Union address accused North Korea of being part of the axis of evil along with Iraq and Iran.
In August of 2003 the Six Party Talks began. With the United States, Russia, North and South Korea China and Japan. From the start until their discontinuation in 2009. Even though several agreements were reached, North Korea would violate the terms setting the negotiations back. It was during these talks that North Korea tested their first nuclear weapon in October of 2006. Several tests have taken place since then with the last test in September of 2016. Analysts believe that North Korea may have as many as eight nuclear devices but are unable to verify that number.
Now Donald Trump in an interview with the Financial Times where he intimated that he would go it alone against North Korea if China refused to influence Kim-Jong un in his pursuit of nuclear weapons, especially ICBMs capable of reaching the U.S. To believe that China would abandon North Korea for geopolitical reasons is foolish. Why won't China harm its relations with North Korea?
Say China decided to fully enforce all the sanctions in place against the Kim's government the Chinese believe the following would happen: Ten's of thousands of refugees would cross the border into Northeast China, it would lose a buffer between it and American forces stationed in South Korea, the reunification of the two Koreas along an economic collapse. China's Communist Party views this as unacceptable.
Donald Trump bullying China? Like that's going to happen. Former President Bill Clinton came the closest to reaching an equitable agreement with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program through diplomatic interactions. Not by bluster and bullying. Donald Trump is immature, narcissistic and lacks intellectual curiosity. None of his senior advisors have foreign policy experience and none are Korean experts yet he and they believe China can be bullied into accepting a policy that would act against their national interests. That will never happen.
Those talks resulted in an agreement which stated: South Korea would construct a light water reactor incapable of producing weapons grade plutonium, but provide much needed electricity to the North Koreans. Just prior to the end of President Clinton's term in office it was discovered that the North Koreans had resumed their pursuit of building and deploying nuclear weapons and the agreement collapsed. George W. Bush's election didn't lead to further talks with the North and were further soured when in his 2002 State of the Union address accused North Korea of being part of the axis of evil along with Iraq and Iran.
In August of 2003 the Six Party Talks began. With the United States, Russia, North and South Korea China and Japan. From the start until their discontinuation in 2009. Even though several agreements were reached, North Korea would violate the terms setting the negotiations back. It was during these talks that North Korea tested their first nuclear weapon in October of 2006. Several tests have taken place since then with the last test in September of 2016. Analysts believe that North Korea may have as many as eight nuclear devices but are unable to verify that number.
Now Donald Trump in an interview with the Financial Times where he intimated that he would go it alone against North Korea if China refused to influence Kim-Jong un in his pursuit of nuclear weapons, especially ICBMs capable of reaching the U.S. To believe that China would abandon North Korea for geopolitical reasons is foolish. Why won't China harm its relations with North Korea?
Say China decided to fully enforce all the sanctions in place against the Kim's government the Chinese believe the following would happen: Ten's of thousands of refugees would cross the border into Northeast China, it would lose a buffer between it and American forces stationed in South Korea, the reunification of the two Koreas along an economic collapse. China's Communist Party views this as unacceptable.
Donald Trump bullying China? Like that's going to happen. Former President Bill Clinton came the closest to reaching an equitable agreement with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program through diplomatic interactions. Not by bluster and bullying. Donald Trump is immature, narcissistic and lacks intellectual curiosity. None of his senior advisors have foreign policy experience and none are Korean experts yet he and they believe China can be bullied into accepting a policy that would act against their national interests. That will never happen.
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