Relations between Asia and the United States seems to be changing due to North Korea’s threat of striking the USA with a nuclear attack. According to White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, it’s not very possible to think about a military response.
Recently, President Donald Trump informed Pyongyang they would respond with “fire and fury” if North Korea attacks any U.S. territory. Now, a member of its cabinet has presented an extremely different point of view.
The change of speech might mean that the U.S. understands how catastrophic it would be to start a war with the DPRK.
“Forget it,” said Steve Bannon
An attack from the U.S., according to analysts, would leave 100,000 people dead in the very first days. If America decided to strike, Kim Jong-Un’s nearest target would be Seoul, which implies a response in the border between the North and the South, where Kim Jong-Un has around 21,500 pieces of artillery lined up.
“Forget it,” said White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon to the American Prospect magazine in an August 16 interview. “Until somebody solves the part of the equation that shows me that ten million people in Seoul don’t die in the first 30 minutes from conventional weapons, I don’t know what you’re talking about, there’s no military solution here, they got us.”
It appears that there is a total contradiction between Trump and Bannon. The President said he could’ve been tougher after stated North Korea would see “fire and fury” from the United States. He even tweeted on August 11 the US was “locked and loaded,” referring to a military response.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson opts for military option if peaceful doesn’t result
Despite the words of Bannon, America’s diplomatic and defense chiefs stated on Thursday that the military option wouldn’t be discarded by any chance if North Korea continued to threaten the Nation. They strongly supported Donald Trump’s words.
In an annual security meeting with close ally Japan – which is also threatened by North Korea-, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattiss announced that the U.S. will always look for a peaceful solution using economic pressure and diplomacy. But if North Korea doesn’t take back the threat, these two options will need to be backed up with military consequences. According to Tillerson, Washington is “prepared militarily” to respond if necessary.
After meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and Foreign Minister Taro Kono at the State Department, neither Tillerson nor Martis spoke against Steve Bannon’s words.
“In close collaboration with our allies, there are strong military consequences if DPRK initiates hostilities,” Mattis said, referring to an abbreviation of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Source: Vox