BY DANIEL SAENZ
It feels as if it was only yesterday when Dennis Rodman was crying on CNN about how happy he was to see President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, two of his best friends, finally bringing about a new era of peace between North Korea, South Korea, and the United States during the Singapore Summit over the summer. While many people on social media made fun of this reaction, Rodman’s feelings of jubilee, as awkwardly expressed as they were, were actually popular among many people across the United States, so much so that some suggested that President Trump be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. There was a similar sentiment in South Korea after President Moon Jae-in convinced Kim Yong Un to have a dialogue with the United States.
Following this conversation with Kim Jong Un, the dictator of North Korea surprised the world and announced that North Korea would be more than willing to end its nuclear ambitions as long as South Korea would denuclearize and if the United States agreed not to invade North Korea. There was also a historic meeting between both Korean leaders in which they crossed their borders to shake hands and showcase goodwill.
Moon’s approval rate from this increased all the way to 90 percent in opinion polls. President Trump upped the ante and even sent Secretary Pompeo to North Korea to negotiate denuclearization with the North Korean government. Many members of the media had their doubts as North Korea had just previously been launching strikes at Japan and doing nuclear testing.
It seemed completely inconceivable that such a peace could be possible. Unfortunately, doubters are proving to be right as these talks are breaking down and leading nowhere. President Trump had to cancel upcoming denuclearization talks in North Korea as Mike Pompeo received a threatening letter during his visit there from a North Korean official.
As always, Kim Jong Un asserts that this is all in self-defense and that it is the United States and South Korea that are being aggressive by conducting military drills right on the border. Despite the apparent breakdown in US-North Korea talks, South Korea is continuing to send delegates to North Korea in hopes of keeping the peace process alive.
However, it appears that we are back to square one. Technically speaking, the Korean War has been ongoing since the 1950s since the countries simply signed a ceasefire. This means that in the worst case scenario, the United States would be pulled into the conflict once the bombs start to fly. This time would be different in the age of nuclear and chemical weapons. So not only would millions die, the peninsula would have to deal with the gruesome after-effects of radiation and chemical poisoning.
Furthermore, North Korea would also undoubtedly launch a strike on U.S. territories such as Guam. Not to mention China would have to deal with the fallout just off its coast. Relations with China would more than likely sour, which would lead China to retaliate by taking hardline economic action against the United States. As of now, South Korea is the only force preventing this from happening. In order to avoid putting U.S. economic and social security at risk, the U.S. should follow the lead of South Korea and continue to pursue all diplomatic options available.