Mattis in Seoul Threatens North Korea
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
In Seoul ahead of Trump’s visit next week, meeting with his counterpart Song Young-moo, Defense Secretary Mattis accused North Korea of “outlaw behavior, threatening behavior.”
He claimed an accelerating “threat that it poses to its neighbors and the world through its illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear weapons program.”
Fact: America is the world’s leading “outlaw” state. The threat of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula is real – preemptively by Washington, not Pyongyang.
Fact: Trump warned of unleashing “fire and fury like the world has never seen” on North Korea, threatening the country with “total destruction.”
Mattis ignored his threats, saying US/Korean military collaboration has taken on a “new urgency.”
Since October 2006, Pyongyang conducted six nuclear tests, progressing from 2 to 250 kt, along with advancing its ballistic missile capability – solely as a deterrent against feared US aggression.
Mattis warned he “cannot imagine a condition under which the United States would accept North Korea as a nuclear power,” adding:
“(M)ake no mistake. Any attack on the United States or our allies will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response that is effective and overwhelming.”
The threat of Pyongyang preemptively attacking America or its allies, with or without nuclear weapons, is virtually nil.
Possible US war on the DPRK is why it pursues its nuclear and ballistic missile programs – defenseless without them, vital to deter US aggression, ongoing in multiple theaters elsewhere, North Korea perhaps next on Trump’s target list.
According to a Congressional Research Service estimate, war on the Korean peninsula, with or without nuclear weapons, could kill hundreds of thousands of people in days, millions on both sides of the DMZ affected, including 100,000 US citizens.
South Korean minister Song said he and Mattis agreed to increased military cooperation, including lifting warhead payload limits on South Korean conventional missiles and supporting the country’s acquisition of “advanced military assets” – with no further elaboration.
South Korean officials support getting nuclear-powered submarines, part of its way to increase military strength.
Hardline ones called for Washington to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons to the country, withdrawn in the 1990s. Mattis and Song dismissed the idea.
“When considering national interest, it’s much better not to deploy them,” said Song, adding his government and allies have enough firepower for defense.
US regional land, naval and aerial forces threaten North Korea. War could happen by accident or design because of Washington’s hostility toward the DPRK and rage for global dominance.
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