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Tag: donald trump kim jong un
Trump Comments On North Korea Missiles Leave US And Allied Troops ‘More Vulnerable’

Trump Comments On North Korea Missiles Leave US And Allied Troops ‘More Vulnerable’

When Trump downplays North Korea’s short-range missile tests, he is tacitly giving Kim Jong Un encouragement and putting everyone in the region in more danger, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The latest missile tests came last Friday, when North Korea launched two missiles that traveled more than 140 miles. Trump’s response was to dismiss the provocative action because the weapons were “smaller ones” and did not contain nuclear warheads. Trump also defended Kim, saying the North Korean dictator sent a small apology for the tests in a recent letter.

Kim complained about joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which Trump also criticized as being too expensive. Military leaders say the exercises are necessary to ensure troops are prepared.

“Rather than denouncing these tests as violations of U.N. resolutions and as a threat to the American allies, President Trump has sounded as if he didn’t care,” Kim Sung-han, a former vice foreign minister of South Korea, told the Times.

Trump’s comments “make the allies and American troops in the region more vulnerable to North Korean missile threats,” he added.

It’s not the first time Trump downplayed North Korean aggression.

In May, Trump falsely claimed earlier missile tests by North Korea were not violations of a U.N. agreement. But just two days later, his own acting defense secretary went on television to correctTrump, saying the tests were a violation.

The United States has roughly 75,000 troops stationed in South Korea and Japan, as well as an additional 20,000 sailors on various vessels throughout the region.

Despite Trump’s fawning relationship with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator has made systematic advances in weapons technology. New missiles use solid fuel, which is more advanced than liquid fuel and can be fired from mobile launchers, according to the Times. Both advances mean the weapons are easier to hide and can be more quickly deployed.

“North Korea wants to advance its missile technology as much as possible before the talks with the United States resume,” Lee Byong-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, told the Times.

And in doing so, American troops are put in increased danger while Trump stands by, refusing to denounce the tests.

Published with permission of The American Independent.

After Missile Tests, Trump Praises Kim Jong Un’s ‘Beautiful Vision’

After Missile Tests, Trump Praises Kim Jong Un’s ‘Beautiful Vision’

Trump praised the “beautiful vision” of the repressive and dictatorial North Korean regime of Kim Jong Un in a series of tweets on Friday.

North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests, including three launches in the last week. The launches are part of a longstanding pattern designed to threaten American allies in the region, including South Korea and Japan.

The provocations highlight the continued failure of Trump’s North Korean policy, which has seen the rogue nation granted an elevated international stature without making any concessions on its nuclear ambitions.

But for Trump, North Korea’s actions are no problem.

“There may be a United Nations violation, but Chairman Kim does not want to disappoint me with a violation of trust, there is far too much for North Korea to gain,” Trump wrote.

“Chariman [sic] Kim has a great and beautiful vision for his country, and only the United States, with me as President, can make that vision come true,” Trump added. “He will do the right thing because he is far too smart not to, and he does not want to disappoint his friend, President Trump!”

North Korea is a closed dictatorship that brutally suppresses and controls its citizens. It has repeatedly been shunned on the international stage, and harshly criticized and ostracized for its human rights abuses.

Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old American college student, was detained and abused by the regime run by Trump’s “friend.”

“The 22-year-old was blind and deaf, his arms were curled and mangled and he was jerking violently and howling, completely unresponsive to his family’s attempts to comfort him. His once straight teeth were misaligned, and he had an unexplained scarred wound on his foot. An expert said in court papers that the injuries suggested he had been tortured with electrocution,” the Associated Press reported last year.

“A neurologist later concluded that the college student suffered brain damage, likely from a loss of blood flow to the brain for five to 20 minutes.”

Warmbier died in 2017.

Trump continues to make excuses for North Korea and cozy up to Kim Jong Un. Instead of addressing his diplomatic failures and how they have made the world less safe, Trump uses his elevated stature to prop up a brutal dictatorship.

Published with permission of The American Independent.

#EndorseThis: How (Not) To Cope With North Korea’s H-Bomb

#EndorseThis: How (Not) To Cope With North Korea’s H-Bomb

With Kim Jong Un brandishing a thermonuclear weapon — specifically his very own “peanut-shaped” H-bomb  — the world faces fresh peril. So what is Donald Trump’s strategy for dealing with this threat?

Let’s just say Trevor Noah is not impressed. In fact as summer ends, he’s just glad he isn’t wearing white pants.