Some of his domestic supporters love the brash outspokenness of President Donald Trump — for many, it was a selling point for his candidacy.
Suffice it to say that this doesn’t play as well on the international stage, least of all to North Korea. And many of the officials within the diplomatic world knew it — including his own chief diplomat. They scrambled to calm the waters over the exchange of threats between Trump and the mercurial and seemingly impulsive leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
The same descriptors could be applied to the president as well. In characteristically unscripted fashion, Trump responded to reports that North Korea has managed to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile, warning that “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. … They will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before.”
Kim’s response to this, predictably, was a counterthreat, laying out plans to explore a nuclear strike against Guam, the U.S. territory the closest to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
In the massive reaction that’s erupted over this crisis, many interpreted the rogue nation’s stance as potentially threatening Hawaii as well. Armed-forces assets in this state have figured as potential targets in past statements from the dictator about his military strategic goals.
The immediate focus is still Guam, with Kim vowing to finalize a plan by mid-month to fire four mid-range missiles, hitting waters 19 to 25 miles away from the island.
However, the ratcheting up of hostilities certainly should put to rest any thoughts that this state is overreacting by making some sensible preparations.
Today’s scheduled testing of warning sirens, conducted by Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the city’s Department of Emergency Management, makes the whole notion of preparedness top of mind, as it should be.
But the test sirens are the only things that should be blaring.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s effort to steady the ship was a needed statement, acknowledging the president’s aim to send a strong message but also underscoring his agency’s desire to restart negotiations with Kim.
That impulse is the right one, and it has been echoed in Hawaii by leaders within the congressional delegation and those with military background. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf, deputy commander of Pacific Command from 2005 to 2008, noted the more “explicit” nature of Kim’s threat than past statements. However, he also expressed confidence in the current command structure to evaluate the situation with prudence.
That reassurance was shared by U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, the latter adding doubts that North Korea has mastered all the components of a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile.
Nobody should panic, but neither should they engage in the dangerous, rhetorical game of one-upmanship. Successful negotiations do not begin with a move to back one of the parties into a corner. It appears that Kim is now in no mood to talk, seeing only more hostility as a show of strength. Trump’s belligerence also seems not to have impressed China, the lone power with sufficient influence over Kim.
Of course, the U.S. is in this precarious spot because of the less-than-aggressive pursuit of a deal with North Korea for decades. Past administrations may have squandered a better chance of reaching accord with Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, when North Korea lagged in the nuclear race.
China’s officials do now seem truly alarmed by the younger Kim’s recklessness, particularly as North Korea approaches full ICBM capacity. There’s hope those with more restraint can tap China’s concern and drive serious diplomacy — but they’ll need defter words and a steadier hand from the commander-in-chief.
