North Korea inviting trouble by its belligerence
China is absolutely right to warn that a United State-North Korea conflict is likely to break out any time soon. It has wisely advised the North Korean leadership to refrain from testing the nuclear weapon it has threatened to and thus provoke Trump Administration. Beijing is the only friend that North Korea has in the entire world, but even it is often frustrated over Pyongyang's irresponsible conduct. Now North Korea has belligerently said that it is prepared for a war with the US in case the latter retaliates over its nuclear weapon testing. This is clearly asking for trouble. US President Donald Trump is unlikely to remain quiet if North Korea dares it with the test. Right now, his administration is in an aggressive mood — having conducted air raids in Syria and bombed a part of Afghanistan to eliminate Islamic State militants.
While the first action has drawn criticism from Russia and many others, the Afghanistan bombing has not met with opposition from Kabul. In fact, there are reports that the strike happened in close consultation with the Afghan leadership. North Korea is a different matter. The US will find overwhelming support from the international community if it decides to act against that hermit nation. There are concerns, though, that such American action can lead the war right at the doorsteps of its ally, South Korea, and the Korean peninsula in general. North Korea's defiance is surprising. A spokesperson of the General Staff of the North's People's Army has warned the US against any misadventure and said the Americans must shed the notion that they could deal with them the way they did with libya, Iraq and Syria. Where does the North Korean leadership get this confidence fromIJ One, of course, has to do with its irresponsible mindset; it would be willing for any damage to its people to keep the pretence of self-dignity. The second stems from the support it gets from China. Pyongyang believes that with China on its side, there would be other nations who, even if they do not directly condone its actions, will maintain a neutral front. But that may not happen, since even China will find itself isolated globally.
Of course, there is no denying that war is a bad option, but the world community cannot keep peace in an environment of serious provocation — the nuclear testing by what many believe is a rogue nation, would certainly a grave provocation. To this extent, Beijing's warning against the escalation of conflict is timely. But it must not seek to — as it is attempting — apportion equal blame between North Korea and the US. Pyongyang is in the wrong and if it continues with its brinkmanship, it must be made to pay. The United States of America, for all its faults, has demonstrated remarkable restraint over the years, even during the presidency of Barack Obama and his predecessors, on the issue. That has not made the North Korean leadership to be more responsible. On the contrary, the inaction has emboldened them.