A War on Words: the “Rocket Man” vs. the “Frightened Dog”

By Bailey Romano

Tension between North Korea and United States has been a reoccurring issue for more than twenty years. In 1994, the Clinton Administration attempted to tame the situation in North Korea by writing up an Agreed Framework 1, in which the North Koreans agreed to stop developing nuclear weapons and to dismantle any in their possession. However, the agreement fell through because  it intended to stop the North Koreans from obtaining plutonium, which would be used for the dismantling of nuclear weapons, this was not what the North Koreans agreed with. The Agreed Framework was carried over into the George W. Bush administration; the North Koreans, however, continuously pocketed concessions from the U.S. while secretly continuing their quest for nuclear weapons.  In 2002, President Bush finally decided that North Korea was cheating and announced that the US was going to cut off its supplies of fuel oil. This was a much different approach and thought process from his predecessor, Clinton.

Under Bush, the Six-Party Talks, involving South Korea, Japan, Russia, China, the United States , and North Korea, were convened to discuss the nuclear issue. Ultimately, the talks produced a joint statement in which North Korea agreed to give up and close its nuclear program. This was an important development, for it showed that the U.S. was not the only country concerned with the nuclear weapons proliferation “epidemic” in North Korea. Unfortunately, this agreement also fell apart when the North Korean government conducted its first public nuclear weapons test in 2006. Surprisingly, after the test, they agreed to dismantle their facilities in return for a resumption in the supply of fuel oil. Then things changed in 2009, when Kim-Jong Un took office and quickly showed himself to be more ruthless than his father Kim Jong-Il. The younger Kim also exhibited a greater interest in further expanding the North Korean nuclear facilities, much to the chagrin of the global community. Kim has had greater success than his predecessors, claiming he was able to launch a missile that could reach California in 2012.

When Obama was inaugurated in 2009, he attempted to confront the North Koreans by stating that he will extend a hand to them if they do so first. From 2009-2012 the North Koreans conducted two underground nuclear testings which failed and violated U.N. resolutions 1. Instead of negotiating with the North Koreans, President Obama issued a policy of “strategic patience”, this called for the U.S. to essentially wait out the North Korea situation. In response to the United States lack of intimidation and outreach, the new leader Kim Jong-Un called for new technology and development policies making their threats louder than before.

In 2017, during the Trump Administration, the tension has grown exponentially from the Bush years, and the situation with North Korea has become more of a cold war. It is best explained as a ‘war of words’, in the sense that there are constant threats being sent back and forth but no military action has so far resulted.  In 2016 North Korea successfully test fired its first international missile which could reach Alaska, and claimed to have successfully created a hydrogen bomb of 250 Kilotons. For comparison of amplitude, the American bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 was 15 kilotons. However, there’s no real way to know if Kim Jong Un is bluffing or not. President Trump has said that if the North Koreans decide to attack America, the U.S. would have “no choice but to totally destroy North Korea” (Trump). Kim responded by saying that the U.S. will “pay dearly” for President Trump’s boastful comments. Kim has also said that he “[has] convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last.” Kim has called Trump a “frightened dog” and Trump often refers to Kim as the “rocket man.”

The conflict further intensified on August 30, 2017, when North Korea fired a missile over Japan and suggested that they could now reach the U.S. territory of Guam, evoking fear among both the Americans and the Japanese. This particular missile is called the Hwasong-12 and claimed to be able to reach 4,500 Km. State media from North Korea boasted that the firing was “the first step of the military operation of the North Korean military in the Pacific and a meaningful prelude to containing Guam.” It also caused the whole nation of Japan to take cover and undergo their missile launch protocol.  The sides in the war of words became clear: Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. versus the North Korean communist regime.

Currently, the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea is quite hostile. Clashing public statements have led tensions to increase even more. Questions about possible North Korean intentions to attack Japan or South Korea arise frequently, but the U.S. is allied with both countries and would crush North Korea if they were to attack. Prior to this fall, North Korea had successfully tested short and medium range missiles but none have been powerful enough to reach 15000 km (the distance between North Korea and New York City). However, North Korea is trying to perfect a new, longer range missile, the Taepodong-2, that can reach the entire United States. Were the US to attack them it would easily be able to retaliate with such a missile. President Trump is currently trying to have China stop trade with North Korea, hoping the the resulting economic hardship will prevent the North Koreans from creating new weapons or force them to make a nuclear non-proliferation deal with the US. Recently President Trump visited South Korea and says that the troops stationed there are ready but reluctant, meaning they wish to attack but will do the means necessary to ensure the safety for the people of Japan, South Korea, and the US. As of November 7, Trump asserted in a conference in South Korea that “it’s time to come to the table, and make a deal” with North Korea. The Trump administration is unsure about the future of North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons, but they are precautionary measures.

Sources

Boghani, Priyanka. “The U.S. and North Korea on the Brink: A Timeline.” PBS, 18
Apr. 2018, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/
the-u-s-and-north-korea-on-the-brink-a-timeline/

Goldman, Russell. “How Trump’s Predecessors Dealt With the North Korean Threat.”
The New York Times, 17 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/world/asia/
trump-north-korea-threat.html.

Kessler, Glenn. “History Lesson: Why Did Bill Clinton’s North Korea Deal Fail?”
The Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/
fact-checker/wp/2017/08/09/
history-lesson-why-did-bill-clintons-north-korea-deal-fail/
?utm_term=.4c8bcf575852.

Lendon, Brad, and Joshua Berlinger. “Next target Guam, North Korea Says.”
CNN, 30 Aug. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/asia/
north-korea-missile-launch-guam-threat/index.html.

Perez, Chris. “This is what would happen if North Korea launched a real attack.”
New York Post, 16 May 2017, nypost.com/2017/05/16/
this-is-what-would-happen-if-north-korea-launched-a-real-attack/.