Washington at the North Korean crossroads

"Absurd"-this is the press secretary of the White House described on Monday the statement of the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs that the United States declared the war of North Korea. This statement, coupled with his warning that North Korea has the right to bring down American military aircraft in international airspace, caused increased attention of the American press and commentators.

At the end of last week, Foreign Minister DPRK Lee, who arrived at the Session of the UN General Assembly, announced that North Korea could experience a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. On Monday, he stated that Pyongyang considers President Trump's warnings about his readiness to answer by force to provocations by North Korea as a declaration of war and may take appropriate actions.

American observers and commentators saw in the replica of the minister a potential sign of Pyongyang's readiness to go to exacerbate the crisis. “North Korea says that she has the right to shoot down American military aircraft,” the New York Times writes, and Washington Post notes that “Words have increased anxiety regarding the likelihood of an elementary miscalculation that can provoke a military confrontation that will get out of control.”

American and South Korean Air Force over the Korean Peninsula

Official Washington immediately explained that no one declared war on Pyongyan, but, according to the representative of the Pentagon, the United States have the right to act freely in the international sea and airspace and are ready to resort to any ways to protect the United States and allies from the threat represented by North Korea.

People from the inner circle of President Trump almost frankly admit that Bely is in confrontation with Pyongyan to the touch. The Trump administration is not ready to accept and recognize North Korea as a nuclear power that can threaten the United States with a nuclear blow, but she does not see a clear way to prevent the appearance of a large -scale arsenal of nuclear weapons in Pyongyan. So far, despite the harsh statements and threats to the North Korean leadership by President Trump, the rate was made for diplomacy, to tighten the economic and financial blockade of North Korea, although, as the president of Trump, a retired General McMaster recognized on Monday, “we hope that we will be able to avoid the war with them, but we cannot lose such an opportunity, from the accounts, it is possible. Given the serious threat represented by North Korea. " McMaster warned that even limited military measures, for example, the naval blockade of the North Korean ports, through which the illegal delivery of goods for the North Korean regime is carried out, are fraught with war.

The sea blockade or interception of merchant ships heading to the ports of North Korea is one of the options for actions proposed by American experts. Among the options are electronic attacks, the objects of which can become laboratories where nuclear weapons are developed, or electromagnetic attacks that will help destroy the communication and control systems of the North Korean army. Experts also talk about the psychological war directed against the North Korean political and military elite in order to convince the North Korean elite, which is not in its interests the support of Kim Jong -un. They say that the Pentagon considers the interception options for the North Korean missiles as a warning to Pyongyan.

Donald Trump announces the introduction of new sanctions against North Korea

The problem is that in this situation there is no reliable way of solving the problem of North Korean nuclear weapons, said an American military expert, a former pentagon, Daniel Gure :

I do not believe that Donald Trump will decide to start a military conflict

- I do not think that this problem can be resolved using a military operation. We are unlikely to be able to destroy the nuclear arsenal Kim Jong -un with one blow. In any case, such a step will provoke a conflict using ordinary weapons. The Trump administration, in my opinion, is aware of this. The question now is how far she is ready to go, increasing the pressure on Pyongyang to convince him that the creation of a nuclear arsenal is not in his interests. I do not believe that Donald Trump will decide to start a military conflict in order to get rid of North Korean nuclear weapons, but all other measures can be involved in the American administration. It is difficult to imagine that Trump will be able to force the North Korean regime to abandon nuclear weapons, but an acceptable option for him may be the refusal of North Korea to test nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, that is, a kind, conclusion of a truce for an indefinite time.

Daniel Gure believes that the risk of direct military conflict is now high:

- It is possible that the pressure that is now on Pyongyang will provoke a conflict situation. For example, the Pentagon organizes another demonstration flight of American bombers near the North Korean borders in order to demonstrate our determination, and Kim Jong -un will order them to attack them, as the Foreign Minister North Korea threatened. Let us recall how the war began on the Pacific Ocean. The United States sent its navy, based in San Diego, to Pearl Harbor, to warn Japan that its aggressive behavior is unacceptable. By that time, we imposed sanctions against Tokyo, tried to act with the help of diplomacy, and how did it turn out? - reminded Daniel Gure.