North Korea may be on the brink of a sixth nuclear test, but will Kim Jong Un pull it off amid tough talk from Donald Trump?
That is the question on many minds this week, as satellite images of the country’s Punggye-ri nuclear site appeared to show preparations for another underground detonation, less than a year after a nuclear device was tested in September.
The United States and China may already be factoring the test as a possibility in their calculations.
Multiple sources in Japan say the U.S. Air Force recently deployed the WC-135 Constant Phoenix to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
The aircraft is capable of collecting samples from the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion and has been previously deployed in the region to track radioactive debris.
Meanwhile, sources in Hong Kong say China is nervous about Pyongyang’s next provocation, and Beijing has ordered troops nationwide to be ready to move to the North Korea border.
About 25,000 troops of the Chinese military's 47th group army of the Ninth Armored Brigade have been instructed to be ready to move long distances, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.
Undergirding all the military maneuvers, however, is what analysts have described as a new era of communication between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping – one of the more unexpected outcomes of the bilateral summit last week.
Trump may now have spoken with Xi by phone twice since the summit. Post-conversation, Trump said the exchange was “very good†and pointed out he was learning of the complexity of the situation, or balancing some of his tough talk on Twitter with a willingness to take Xi seriously.
While it’s unclear whether Trump’s changing tone on China is having an effect on Chinese views, Beijing’s state tabloid Global Times issued an unusual editorial Thursday that suggested China should guarantee Pyongyang regime security for denuclearization, rather than blaming the United States again for the situation.
It’s still too early to tell, but North Korea could be changing its position as well.
Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament this week agreed to revive its foreign affairs committee, a sign that Pyongyang wants to take a step back from military tensions, according to South Korean analyst Kim Yong-hyun.
Which means in the unusual swirl of events, the United States, China and North Korea have suddenly landed on the same page, where they are now equally hedging their bets.
That is the question on many minds this week, as satellite images of the country’s Punggye-ri nuclear site appeared to show preparations for another underground detonation, less than a year after a nuclear device was tested in September.
The United States and China may already be factoring the test as a possibility in their calculations.
Multiple sources in Japan say the U.S. Air Force recently deployed the WC-135 Constant Phoenix to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
The aircraft is capable of collecting samples from the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion and has been previously deployed in the region to track radioactive debris.
Meanwhile, sources in Hong Kong say China is nervous about Pyongyang’s next provocation, and Beijing has ordered troops nationwide to be ready to move to the North Korea border.
About 25,000 troops of the Chinese military's 47th group army of the Ninth Armored Brigade have been instructed to be ready to move long distances, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.
Undergirding all the military maneuvers, however, is what analysts have described as a new era of communication between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping – one of the more unexpected outcomes of the bilateral summit last week.
Trump may now have spoken with Xi by phone twice since the summit. Post-conversation, Trump said the exchange was “very good†and pointed out he was learning of the complexity of the situation, or balancing some of his tough talk on Twitter with a willingness to take Xi seriously.
While it’s unclear whether Trump’s changing tone on China is having an effect on Chinese views, Beijing’s state tabloid Global Times issued an unusual editorial Thursday that suggested China should guarantee Pyongyang regime security for denuclearization, rather than blaming the United States again for the situation.
It’s still too early to tell, but North Korea could be changing its position as well.
Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament this week agreed to revive its foreign affairs committee, a sign that Pyongyang wants to take a step back from military tensions, according to South Korean analyst Kim Yong-hyun.
Which means in the unusual swirl of events, the United States, China and North Korea have suddenly landed on the same page, where they are now equally hedging their bets.
No comments:
Post a Comment