Trump hints at intensified pressure on North Korea

“The alliance between the U.S. and South Korea serves as a central axis supporting regional peace and security in the Asia Pacific,” said U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis in Seoul on Thursday. “Use of any form of nuclear weapons will meet with effective and overwhelming response.” During his first overseas visit as defense secretary, Mattis met with his South Korean counterpart, Defense Minister Han Min-koo, and reaffirmed his commitment to the deployment of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea as planned. Mattis also agreed to step up the level of Key Resolve exercise this March. Mattis delivered a message from U.S. President Donald Trump that the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea is one of his priorities, which is an encouraging gesture to South Korea.

It is obvious that Trump has been trying to shake up the international order by attacking the effectiveness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. Surprisingly, this time, Trump came forward with a friendly gesture to one of its close allies, South Korea, meaning that the heightened risk stemming from North Korea is not a bluff anymore. In recent days, hardliners in the U.S., including government officials, lawmakers and Korean experts, are increasingly targeting North Korea with hostile remarks such as preemptive attack on North Korea, transition of North Korean government and assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In retrospect, the U.S. had decided to attack North Korea’s nuclear facility in Yongbyon and engage in all-out war against North Korea in 1994. The plan was nullified due to an increased concern on significant damage to South Korea. However, South Korea should not sit in complacency this time as the Trump administration is filled with hawkish members.

Trump is not willing to avoid diplomatic or economic clashes against its rival China seeking to achieve hegemony in the Asia Pacific region. The next destination of Mattis after a stay in Korea is Japan, and Mattis plans to set a stage for upcoming discussion about how to check China. In response to Mattis’ trip to South Korea and Japan, China's state-run newspaper Huanqiu said, “South Korea became a go stone of the U.S,” which is an absurd accusation made by China. If North Korea tests its ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) as warned and the U.S. intercepts the missile, political situation in the Korean Peninsula will rapidly change and regional stability will fluctuate.

It seems that South Korea is facing imminent security challenges. Unfortunately, the political community is largely focused on who will become the next president. Furthermore, the opposition parties are clearly going opposite to Trump’s North Korea policy. The current situation is more worrisome given the level of nuclear threat from Pyongyang, but the awareness level of national security remains the same in South Korea. According to a poll survey by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, the awareness level of security increases after a nuclear test in North Korea but soon returns to an ordinary level. The concern is that there would be nothing left for Koreans to do when the nation is on the brink of collapse.