Prepare for North Korean terror in Gangam
+Missiles only latest threat; nuclear war possible
+Trump facing growing pressure to act
+Negotiations are the only sane way
By Emanuel Pastreich
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But what might happen if Trump were to launch a limited attack on North Korea, perhaps on a military base, or even a city? The pressure on Trump to do something is mounting back in Washington, D.C. He has been talking tough about North Korea and has more enemies inside the beltway than a cat has fleas. Some in the military were impressed by Trump's tough words, but he is looking less and less impressive as his dramatic threats seem to peter out without any action.
Would Pyongyang be begging for mercy and open itself up for intrusive weapons inspections such as those that Iraq underwent before it was overthrown? The odds are not good.
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| Gangnam-daero Road in Gangnam-gu, Seoul / Korea Times file |
After all, such massive terrorist attacks, often ambiguous in nature, are becoming more and more common in countries like Turkey, Russia, Iraq, France, and the United States.
The assumption that North Korea is only going to respond to attacks from the United States in a conventional manner using weapons that Korea has prepared to respond to is naive and suggests that military planners need to reread Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Conflict will be about the unpredictable and will not follow the patterns that military contractors have made a fortune preparing for.
It would be wise to step back and think seriously about what North Korea's options are and if we do so with an open mind, it will be clear quite quickly that we really have no other option but negotiations.
Emanuel Yi Pastreich is a critic of literature, technology and international affairs. He teaches at Kyung Hee University and works at the Asia Institute. Contact: epastreich@gmail.com.
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