America's North Korean Conundrum

North Korea and its narcissistic dictator are on a collision course with the United States.  The rogue regime continues to lob missiles over Japan in defiance of America's protests.  Its hermit leader has conducted nuclear tests flouting past treaties.  There is a gnawing fear of a nuclear holocaust.

Despite the burning North Korean crisis, the liberal media and many Democrats naively continue to preach patience.  They appear to take comfort in the fact lunatic leader Kim Jong Un has not yet leveled a country with a nuclear-tipped missile.  They dismiss his provocations as bluffs.

However, there are lessons to be learned from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.  When the Soviets installed a missile base 90-miles off the coast of Florida, President John F. Kennedy acted decisively to head off the prospect of a nuclear Cuba threatening American security.

JFK ordered a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent the Soviets from sending more missiles and arms to Communist dictator Fidel Castro. In response, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev dispatched a naval armada to Cuba.  The decision nudged America to the brink of war.

Most military experts warned that an armed conflict was inevitable.  After a tense 13-day standoff Khrushchev blinked, offering to remove the missiles from Cuba in exchange for JFK's promise not to invade the Soviet-backed state. A bargain was struck averting war. 

It will require that same kind of steely resolve for America to deal with North Korea.  Current political leaders are swayed by public opinion polls that clearly show Americans are not interested in a conflict on the Korean peninsula. But Kennedy's calculated risk was unpopular too.

America needs a strategy that will force Kim to give up his missiles and nuclear weapons. Appeasement has not worked despite treaties and gobs of foreign aid by the administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barrack Obama.  Agreements and money won't purchase peace.

Efforts to convince China to intervene on America's behalf are fantasies. The U.S. will never be able to force China to abandon its support for North Korea unless it cuts off all trade with the Communist superpower.  That won't happen because there is too much at stake for American businesses.

U.S. goods and services trade with China was $648.2 billion in 2016, according to the Department of Commerce.  China is currently America's leading trading partner.  China holds the leverage in this arena, not the U.S.  It is folly to suggest that America can bring China to its knees over trade.

China has the upper hand in another area. The Chinese currently own more than $1.24 trillion in bonds, notes and bills issued by the American government.  That figure represents 30 percent of all the debt held by foreign governments. It gives China unparalleled bargaining power.

But that doesn't mean's America's hands are shackled. The U.S. should begin laying the groundwork to kick North Korea out of the United Nations.  No member state has ever been expelled from the organization, but there is no better first candidate than North Korea.

The U.N. charter allows for the eviction of members who have "persistently violated" the organization's charter.  Tossing out North Korea would rob Kim of the perk of having the U.S. pay for its diplomats (aka spies) to occupy posh quarters in New York, Rome and Vienna.

The expulsion would require a vote from the Security Council, a group of nations that include China and Russia.  But it is still worth the effort, if only to send a signal to North Korea that it will be cut off from the rest of the civilized world if it continues its adversarial behavior.

Next the U.S. and its allies should institute a naval blockade around North Korea to prevent any weapons or nuclear materials from reaching the failed state. By targeting military shipments, the move could dent the thriving arms export business that is one of the few sources of state income. 

According to military analysts with knowledge of the regime's shadowy arms deals, the Asian nation trades with Africa and Middle Eastern countries, including Syria.  Those shipments are launched from ports off the coast of North Korea, most notably Pyongyang. 

Although North Korea has a military of 6.4 million men that dwarfs America's force of 2.3 million, it is no match for U.S. naval firepower.  North Korea has no aircraft carriers and only a small fleet of frigates and submarines.  American naval forces would overpower any threat to the blockade. 

On top of these moves, America should tighten the screws of economic sanctions, clamping down on the financial dealings of regime leaders and challenging China to follow suit.  If the past is any indication of the future, Kim will thumb his nose at the U.S. and its allies.

The world can no longer allow a madman to willy-nilly launch missiles over soverign countries.  One day Kim will fire a rocket at the U.S. When that moment arrives, public opinion about North Korean intervention will quickly reverse.  By then will it be too late to save America?