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U.S. pressure on North Korea pleases Japan and S. Korea

In this March 15, 2017, file photo, U.S. Navy aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson approaches to participate in the annual joint military exercise called Foal Eagle between South Korea and the United States in Busan, South Korea. (Jo Jung-ho / Associated Press)
By Takashi Nakagawa and Takeo Miyazaki Japan News/Yomiuri

TOKYO – The governments of Japan and South Korea have welcomed the policy of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to heighten pressure on North Korea, including its deployment of the aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson near the Korean Peninsula.

“It’s important to secure a U.S. deterrent force amid the increasingly severe security climate in the region,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference on Monday.

A spokesperson for South Korea’s defense ministry praised the U.S. move, saying at another press conference the same day that it indicated Washington understood the severity of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, where there is an increasing likelihood North Korea will conduct nuclear tests and fire missiles.

The Trump administration has reviewed former U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy of “strategic patience” that the U.S. government will not hold dialogue with North Korea unless it takes specific action toward denuclearization.

However, the current U.S. administration does not intend to exclude any military means, saying it is considering “all options on the table.” Tokyo and Seoul have both accepted this stance, as Pyongyang has continued nuclear and missile development and improved related technologies.

North Korea is allegedly ready to fire a long-range ballistic missile or conduct its sixth nuclear test whenever Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, gives the orders.

A senior official at Japan’s Defense Ministry said there is hope that U.S. action will have “certain deterrent effects” on North Korea.

However, if the United States takes military action against North Korea, there will be much greater risk for Japan and South Korea than the United States, as the two Asian nations are located closer to North Korea.

North Korea has fully deployed about 300 medium-range Rodong missiles, which could reach almost anywhere in Japan with a range of 1,300 kilometers, as well as rocket launchers, which are capable of hitting Seoul, near the the military demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea.

It is believed to be difficult under Japan’s current missile defense system to intercept all North Korea’s missiles if they were launched simultaneously. Seoul is only dozens of kilometers away from the military demarcation line and could be caught in the cross-fire.

Cautious of military action against North Korea, the governments of Japan and South Korea have agreed not to abandon their baseline goal of reaching a solution through dialogue.

As the most favorable scenario, the two countries hope North Korea will begin warming to dialogue as a result of U.S. pressure and resume the six-party talks regarding North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. However, North Korea clearly stated the six-party talks were “dead.” There is no sign of them resuming.