In the past week, tensions have been escalating between North Korea and the United States. Without checking with his advisors, Trump threatened North Korea off the cuff on Wednesday by saying they would be met with “Fire and Fury” if they tried to harm the United States. Trump then added later that saying North Korea would be met with fire and fury was not harsh enough. North Korea has been responding, and there is talk of an attack on Guam - a United States territory with a lot of US military equipment on it. So far no strikes have been launched by either country toward the other, but what would happen if strikes were launched? What could either country gain by destroying the other?
If America made the first strike, they would have to fight North Korea swiftly. Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain and senior fellow at the Center for New American Security says that if the United States were to strike first, they would have to destroy North Korea’s counter striking capabilities and defenses. According to Hendrix, America would use F-22s, F-35s, and B-2 bombers with the help of Japan’s and South Korea’s F-15 and F-16 fighters to attack North Korea. While aircraft are fighting from the sky, American warships would launch Tomahawk missiles at North Korean missile sites, air defense systems, and an area where nuclear weapons are held. There are 10 American missile cruisers and destroyers based in Japan that would be put to use. After destroying the counter-attacking systems, they would bring in aircraft from Guam to deliver a huge blow.
As soon as the attack begins, America and its allies would have to destroy the missiles pointing toward the South Korean capital, Seoul. North Korea has lots of destructive weapons pointing toward Seoul, and the city could be flattened if they were to be deployed. It can be estimated that hundreds of thousands of South Koreans would be killed due to rockets and missiles. If the combat grew to a nuclear level, then there would be tens of millions of deaths and South Korea would officially be destroyed.
America believes in preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. They believe that they should only make the first move if it will save more lives in the long run. If Korea were to strike first, then America said that it will definitely counter attack. “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely,” is what President Trump said about counter attacking North Korea. Although a last resort plan, America is indeed ready to attack North Korea if worst comes to worst.
“Guam's Homeland Security Advisor George Charfauros said Friday it would take 14 minutes for a missile fired from North Korea to reach Guam” (CNN). If North Korea were to make the first strike they would most likely use the Hwasong-12, an intermediate range ballistic missile. It has a range of 4,500 km and is highly explosive. If North Korea were to deploy this missile, they will most likely make its target 30-40 km off the coast of Guam to panic the US and make them aware that the missile could be sent all the way to Guam in the future if necessary. However, Kim Jong Un knows that if he were to attack Guam or the United States, he would be met with an overwhelming response that could harm him and his regime. Also, if his missile were to miss Guam or fail to launch, then his attempt would be an embarrassment to the country. Some think that North Korea is just blowing smoke with their threats, however, they are still a powerful country and tensions are high.
Other Sources:
Kim’s reasons to be upset with the United States: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/08/11/kim-jong-un-north-korea-leader/559043001/
To learn more about Guam and how the residents feel about a possible attack:
Is North Korea really going to launch an attack?:
Questions:
Is the United States prepared to handle North Korea or is Trump overconfident?
Is there any other way to resolve these tensions besides conflict?
Do you think Trump should make the first move? How will that change life in America?
If an attack were to occur, which side do you think would have initiated it and why?
Recently, President Trump said he will show fire and fury to North Korea if they do anything that harms Guam or the United States of America. If I were Trump, I would keep threatening North Korea to make sure they don't launch the missile towards us or Guam. An article posted by CNN," Guam, Japan prepare for possible North Korea missile launch." This article mainly focuses on how North Korea is test firing missiles near Guam and how a missile can be stopped. Guam's Joint Information Center warned residents how to prepare for an imminent missile threat, which is crazy to think about. The flash or fireball could blind you and your supposed to lay on the ground and cover your head if it were to hit. It would take around 14 minutes for the missile to reach Guam from North Korea. THAAD, Aegis-warships and patriots are able to take out a ballistic missiles. The Aegis ballistic missile defense system was deployed in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. I feel that its good that there are different vessels that could shoot down the missiles.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Do you think North Korea will actually launch the missiles as a threat?
I completely believe that the US would be prepared should we be attack with a missile by North Korea. We spend a lot of our country's money on our militias and for them to protect us. Because of this we should not be worried if an attack happens. There may not be a way to resolve this conflict, this may just be like another Cold War, because that is what it is shaping up to be because everyone is all talk but no one is doing anything about it. Saying this, I believe that Trump should not make the first move against North Korea because like I said before no one knows if North Korea is going to even launch the missiles. Adding to this, if missiles were to be launched it would be North Korea that would launch first, but then I believe the US would annihilate North Korea because our army is extremely secretive when it comes to things like this, so we don't even know what they have under the radar.
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