| 2017–2018 North Korea crisis | |||||||||
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| Part of the inter-Korean conflict | |||||||||
 North Korea'sHwasong-14 launch in July 2017 | |||||||||
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| Parties involved in the crisis | |||||||||
 North Korea | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Kim Jong Un | |||||||||
The2017–2018 North Korea crisis was a period of heightened tension betweenNorth Korea and theUnited States. The crisis began early in 2017 when North Korea conducted a series of missile and nuclear tests that demonstrated the country's ability to launchballistic missiles beyond its immediate region, suggesting theirnuclear weapons capability was developing at a faster rate than had been assessed byU.S. intelligence.[2][3][4] Both countries started exchanging increasingly heated rhetoric, including nuclear threats and personal attacks between the two leaders, which, compounded by ajoint U.S.–South Korea military exercise undertaken in August and North Korea'ssixth nuclear test in September, raised international tensions in the region and beyond and stoked fears about a possible nuclear conflict between the two nations.[5] In addition, North Korea also threatenedAustralia twice with nuclear strikes throughout the year for their allegiance with the United States.[6][7] International relations lecturer and former government strategist Van Jackson said in the bookOn the Brink: Trump, Kim, and the Threat of Nuclear War that it was the closest the world had come to nuclear war since theCuban Missile Crisis.[8]
Tensions began to decline in 2018, with North Korea announcing the restoration of theSeoul–Pyongyang hotline and agreeing to hold talks withSouth Korea about participation in the2018 Winter Olympics inPyeongchang. Diplomatic activity flourished during the next few months, with the suspension of nuclear and missile tests by North Korea, and the2018 inter-Korean summit in late April which culminated in the signing of thePanmunjom Declaration on 27 April 2018. An unprecedentedbilateral summit between Kim and Trump was held in Singapore on 12 June 2018. It resulted in a joint declaration calling for the "full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula". Asecond summit between Kim and Trump took place inHanoi,Vietnam on 27–28 February 2019.[9] Though talks there broke down,a third summit took place in theKorean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on 30 June 2019, with Trump becoming the first sitting US president to visit North Korea. Follow-up talks later in 2019, however, broke down within hours.[10]
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In his New Year's Day speech on January 2, 2017,Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, said that the country was in the "last stage" of preparations to test-fire anintercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).[11]
On May 3, North Korea issued a rare and harshly worded criticism of its chief ally, China, stating that "One must clearly understand that the D.P.R.K.'s line of access to nukes for the existence and development of the country can neither be changed nor shaken[...] And that the D.P.R.K. will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear program which is as precious as its own life, no matter how valuable the friendship is... China should no longer try to test the limits of the D.P.R.K.'s patience[...] China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of theD.P.R.K.-China relations." The harsh commentary also accused the Chinese media of dancing to the tune of the U.S.[12]
In early August 2017,The Washington Post reported an assessment, made by the U.S.Defense Intelligence Agency in July 2017, which said that North Korea had successfully developed nuclear warheads for missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland (a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles).[3]
Since North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006, theUN Security Council had passed a number of resolutions that imposed various sanctions on the DPRK, including restrictions on economic activity. Nevertheless, North Korea'sgross domestic product grew by an estimated 3.9 percent in 2016, to about $28.5 billion, the fastest pace in 17 years; the progress was largely attributed to continued trade with China, which accounted for more than 90% of North Korea's international trade.[13][14]
In late February 2017, following North Korea's February 12 test of thePukkuksong-2 medium-range ballistic missile, China, which regards its trade with North Korea and the putative missile threat to the U.S. as separate issues,[15] said it would comply with UN Resolution 2321[16] and halt all coal imports (North Korea's main export) from North Korea.[17] The halt notwithstanding, in April 2017, China said that its trade with North Korea had expanded.[18] In July 2017, China's trade with North Korea, while the ban on North Korean coal was said to have slowed imports from the DPRK, was worth $456 million, up from $426 million in July 2016, theyear-to-date trade being up 10.2 percent at $3.01 billion.[19]
In 2017, North Korea was sanctioned several times by the UN Security Council. According to the last set of sanctions of December 22, 2017, oil supplies to the DPRK are prohibited, and all countries have decided to expel North Korean labor migrants within 24 months from the territories of the countries where they work.[20]
China has been opposed to secondary sanctions that may be imposed on Chinese firms that do business with North Korea.[18][21]
American university studentOtto Warmbier was freed from North Korea in June 2017, while in a coma after nearly 18 months of captivity.[22] Warmbier died without regaining consciousness on June 19, 2017, six days after his return to the United States.[23] Some U.S. officials blamed North Korea for his death.[24] In July 2017,U.S. Secretary of StateRex Tillerson authorized a "Geographical Travel Restriction" which banned Americans from entering North Korea.[25]
Ostensibly to counter North Korea's missile threat,United States Forces Korea (USFK) had been planning deployment of theTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea, which is designed to detect and destroyintermediate- andmedium-rangeballistic missiles (not intercontinental ballistic missile).[26] The deployment had faced strong oppositions fromChina,Russia, and North Korea.[27][28] In late April 2017, it was reported that while THAAD had originally been scheduled to become operational by the end of 2017, this could occur sooner.[29] According to U.S. Forces Korea's announcement, THAAD stationed in South Korea had reached initial operating capability (IOC) on May 1, 2017.[30]
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Following North Korea's test-firing of a medium-range ballistic missile from its eastern port ofSinpo into theSea of Japan on April 5, which came a month after four ballistic missiles were fired towards the Sea of Japan, tensions increased as U.S. presidentDonald Trump had said the U.S. was prepared to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat from North Korea.[31][32] On April 9, the U.S. Navy announced it was sending anavy strike group headed by thesupercarrierUSS Carl Vinson to the West Pacific ("to sail north and report on station in the Western Pacific Ocean after departing Singapore April 8"), but due to apparent miscommunication inside the U.S. administration, the naval move was presented as one towards the Korean peninsula.[33][32][34] This information was backtracked by the U.S. government a few days later.[35][36]
The April 9 announcement by the Navy led to a "glitch-ridden sequence of events".[37] On April 17, North Korea's deputyUnited Nations ambassador accused the United States of turning the Korean peninsula into "the world's biggest hotspot" and the North Korean government stated "its readiness to declare war on the United States if North Korean forces were to be attacked."[38] In reality on April 18,Carl Vinson and its escorts were 5,600 kilometres (3,500 mi) from Korea engaged in scheduled jointRoyal Australian Navy exercises in the Indian Ocean.[37][39][40] On April 24 the Japanese destroyersAshigara andSamidare participated withCarl Vinson in tactical training drills near thePhilippines; North Korea threatened to sink her with a single strike.[41]Carl Vinson had been in theSouth China Sea in 2015 and again in February 2017 on routine patrols.[42] In late April 2017, Trump stated that "[t]here is a chance that we [the United States] could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea".[43]
On April 24, North Korea marked the 85th anniversary of theKorean People's Army by what was said to be "its largest ever military drill," conducted inWonsan.[44] The following day, it was reported that the United States and South Korea had begun installing key elements of the THAAD missile defense in South Korea'sSeongju County.[45]
On July 4[i] North Korea conducted the first publicly announced flight test of its ICBMHwasong-14, timed to coincide with the U.S.Independence Day celebrations. This flight had a claimed range of 933 kilometres (580 miles) eastwards into theSea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) and reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometres (9,193,000 ft) during a 39-minute flight.[46][47] The U.S. government experts classified the missile launch as a big step in Pyongyang's quest to acquire a nuclear-tipped weapon capable of hitting the U.S.[48] North Korea declared it was now "a full-fledged nuclear power that has been possessed of the most powerful inter-continental ballistic rocket capable of hitting any part of the world".[49][50]
USFK said in a statement dated July 4, 2017: "Eighth U.S. Army and Republic of Korea (ROK) military personnel conducted a combined event exercising assets countering North Korea's destabilizing and unlawful actions on July 4."[51] South Korea'sHyunmoo-2B and U.S.Army Tactical Missile System missiles were launched during the drill.[52][53]
On August 8, 2017, President Donald Trump warned that North Korean nuclear threats would "be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before," after themass media reported that a US intelligence assessment had found that the country had successfully produced a miniaturised nuclear warhead capable of fitting inside its missiles.[3] According toNew York Times correspondentMichael S. Schmidt, Trump proposed using a nuclear weapon against North Korea and blaming the attack on another country, but was dissuaded byJohn F. Kelly.[54] President Trump also remarked of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un: "He has been very threatening beyond a normal state."[55] Within hours, North Korea responded by announcing that it was considering attacking U.S. military bases in theUS territory ofGuam.[56]
On August 10, 2017, North Korean Lt. Gen.Kim Rak-gyom responded to Trump's speech of "fire and fury," saying his words were "nonsense" and asserting that "reasonable dialogue" wasn't possible with Trump as president of the US. The North Korean governmental news agencyKCNA reported that Kim Jong Un's military was considering a plan to fire four ICBMs, typeHwasong-12, into thePhilippine Sea just 30–40 kilometers away from the island Guam. The flight time of missiles was estimated to be exactly 17 minutes and 45 seconds. A report by the KCNA suggested the plan would be put into operation in mid-August.[57] U.S. officials stated thatJoseph Y. Yun, theUS envoy for North Korea policy, andPak Song-il, a senior North Korean diplomat at the country's UN mission, were making regular contact during this dispute, through a conduit of communication they called theNew York channel.[58]
On August 11, Trumpwrote on Twitter: "Military solutions are now fully in place,[ ]locked and loaded,[ ]should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!"[59] FormerU.S. Ambassador to the United NationsJohn Bolton and formerU.S. Secretary of DefenseLeon Panetta stated that the standoff between the U.S. and North Korea overPyongyang's nuclear weapons program was comparable to theCuban Missile Crisis.[60][61]
Bob Woodward, in his 2020 bookRage, quoted Mike Pompeo as saying the national security team "never knew whether it was real, or whether it was a bluff", and reported thatJim Mattis slept fully dressed due to concerns about a North Korean attack.[62]
On August 14,Ukraine's Chairman of the National Security and Defense Council,Oleksandr Turchynov denied that it had ever supplied defense technology to North Korea, responding to an article in theNew York Times that said North Korea might have purchased rocket engines from Ukrainian factoryYuzhmash, who have also denied the report.[63]
On August 15, the North Korean leader said he was delaying a decision on firing missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam while he waits to see what Trump does next.[64]
From August 21–31, the U.S. and South Korea conducted the 2017Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercise that was billed byU.S. Forces Korea as slightly smaller than the previous year's, with 17,500 U.S. troops participating;[65] an editorial carried by North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper condemned the drills as "the most explicit expression of hostility against us."[66][67]
On August 25, North Korea fired three missiles fromKangwon Province in the southeastern part of the country. According to Cmdr. Dave Benham ofUS Pacific Command, one of the missiles exploded on launch while the other two suffered critical failures in flight, splashing down in the Sea of Japan after flying a distance of 250 kilometers (160 mi).[68]
On August 29, just before 6 amJST,North Korea launched a missile which flew overHokkaido,Japan. The missile reached an altitude of 550 km (340 mi) and flew a total distance of around 2,700 km (1,700 mi) before crashing into the Pacific. The missile was not shot down by the Japanese military.[69] This was the third time, with two prior events in 1998 and 2009, that a North Korean missile had passed over Japanese territory. However, in both of those prior cases, North Korea had claimed that they were launching satellites.[70] The missile prompted activation of theJ-Alert warning system in Tohoku and Hokkaido, advising people to seek shelter.[71][72] The launch was scheduled on the 107th anniversary of theJapan-Korea annexation treaty, andKCNA said that it was "a bold plan to make the cruel Japanese islanders insensible on bloody August 29."[73] The missile launched was said to have followed a much flatter trajectory than those tested earlier in 2017.[74]
An emergencyUN Security Council meeting was called for later that day to discuss the event.[75] In a statement issued by theWhite House in response to the launch, US President Donald Trump said that "All options are on the table" regarding North Korea.[76]
On August 30, President Trump issued a statement via Twitter saying "The U.S. has been talking to North Korea and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!"[77] However, when asked by reporters at a meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-Moo whether diplomacy was off the table, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated that "We're never out of diplomatic solutions" and "We always look for more. We're never complacent."[78]
On August 31, the US flew a squadron of bombers, including two B-1Bs and four F-35s, and conducted bombing drills in what US Pacific Command described as a "direct response to North Korea's intermediate range ballistic missile launch," referring to North Korea's IRBM launch on August 29.[79]
On September 3, at 3:31 amUTC, theUnited States Geological Survey reported that it had detected amagnitude 6.3 earthquake in North Korea near thePunggye-ri test site.[80] Given the shallow depth of the quake and its proximity to North Korea's primary nuclear weapons testing facility, experts concluded that the country had conducted asixth nuclear weapon test since the country first exploded a nuclear device in 2006.[81] North Korea claimed that they had tested ahydrogen bomb capable of being mounted on an ICBM.[82] The independent seismic monitoring agencyNORSAR estimated that the blast had a yield of around 120 kilotons.[83] An officialKCNA statement of September 3, also claimed North Korea's ability to conduct a "super-powerfulEMP attack".[84]
On the same day, U.S. Defense SecretaryJames Mattis speaking on behalf of the White House, warned there would be "a massive military response" to any threat from North Korea against the United States, including Guam, or its allies.[85]
Early on September 4,South Korea conducted a ballistic missile exercise that involved the South'sHyunmoo ballistic missile and the F-15K fighter jets, which was billed to be in response to North's detonation. The state news agencyYonhap said the South's military had carried out a live-fire exercise simulating an attack on the North's nuclear site, hitting "designated targets in theEast Sea".[86][87]
On the same day, the UN Security Council convened to discuss further measures against North Korea;[88] the leaked draft the relevant UNSC resolution prepared by the U.S. was said to call for an oil embargo on North Korea, ban on the country's exports of textiles, on the hiring of North Korean workers abroad as well as personal sanctions againstKim Jong Un.[89] Despite resistance from China and Russia, the United States on 8 September formally requested a vote of the United Nations Security Council on the U.S. resolution.[90]UNSC 2375 passed on September 11 as a significantly watered-down version of the United States' request.[91]
In an interview on September 4,Liu Jieyi, China's ambassador to the United Nations, called for dialogue, saying that the issue needed to be resolved "peacefully". He said, "China will never allow chaos and war on the peninsula."[92]
PresidentVladimir Putin speaking to the Chinese press on September 5, 2017, described U.S. proposals for further sanctions on Pyongyang as "useless"; he said, "Ramping up military hysteria in such conditions is senseless; it's a dead end."[93] Russian Foreign MinisterSergey Lavrov has likened the war of words between U.S. PresidentDonald Trump and North Korean leaderKim Jong Un to a kindergarten fight between two children, saying "Together with China we'll continue to strive for a reasonable approach and not an emotional one like when children in a kindergarten start fighting and no-one can stop them."[94]
A plan proposed by both China and Russia calls for a joint freeze (freeze-for-freeze) – of North's missile tests, and U.S. and South Korean military exercises; the next step would be starting talks.[95][91] The joint initiative of Russia and China envisages the involved parties' commitment to "four nos": concerning regime change, regime collapse, accelerated reunification, and military deployment north of the thirty-eighth parallel.[96][failed verification]
On September 6, Donald Trump, after a telephone conversation with China'sXi Jinping, said that the United States would not tolerate North Korea's provocations, although military action was not his "first choice".[89]
On September 10, theSecretary General of theNorth Atlantic Treaty OrganizationJens Stoltenberg said in an interview with BBC television: "The reckless behavior of North Korea is a global threat and requires a global response and that of course also includes NATO"; when asked whether an attack on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam would trigger NATO's Article 5, he said: "I will not speculate about whether Article 5 will be applied in such a situation."[97]
On September 14, North Korea issued a threat to "sink" Japan, and turn the US to "ashes and darkness". The statement drew strong condemnation fromYoshihide Suga, who described the speech as "extremely provocative and egregious".[98] The next day, anIRBM was fired from near Pyongyang and flew over Hokkaido, Japan before splashing down in the western Pacific about two thousand kilometers offCape Erimo at about 7:16 am local time.
The missile traveled 3,700 kilometers (2,300 mi) achieving a maximum apogee of 770 kilometres (480 mi) during its 19-minute flight. It was the furthest any North Korean IRBM missile has gone above and beyond Japan.[99] On September 18, North Korea announced that any further sanctions would only cause acceleration of their nuclear program.[100]
On September 18, the White House said president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping had discussed North Korea's continued nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests and committed to "maximising pressure on North Korea through vigorous enforcement" of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea; North Korea said the sanctions would accelerate its nuclear program.[101]
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On September 19, Donald Trump, in his first address to theUnited Nations General Assembly, said that the United States: "if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man [Kim Jong Un] is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States are ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary."[102][103] Also, without mentioning it by name, Donald Trump criticized China for maintaining relations with NK, calling it "an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime, but would arm, supply, and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict".[103][102]
On September 20, U.S. president Donald Trump signed anexecutive order that further toughened U.S. sanctions against North Korea: the U.S. Treasury was thereby authorized to target firms and financial institutions conducting business with NK.[104][105] Commenting on the executive order, Treasury SecretarySteven Mnuchin said, "Foreign financial institutions are now on notice that going forward they can choose to do business with the United States or North Korea, but not both."[106][107]
On September 21, responding directly for the first time to President Trump's threat,[108] North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in his capacity of Chairman of State Affairs of DPRK[109] called Trump a "mentally deranged U.S.dotard" (Korean:늙다리 미치광이,romanized: Neukdari michigwangi,lit. 'Old man lunatic')[110][111] and vowed the "highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history."[112] (Thead hominem insults aside, no reference was made to the "hostile policy" of the United States, a staple of North Korean statements otherwise.)[113] Foreign ministerRi Yong-ho likewise alluded to Trump as a barking dog,[114] and furthermore remarked that North Korea might be considering the largest test of a hydrogen bomb ever in the Pacific Ocean,[112] which would constitute the first atmospheric nuclear test in the world since 1980 (last performed by China).[113]
On September 25, North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho accused Trump of declaring war[115] on his country, referring to Trump's recent tweet that North Korea "won't be around much longer." The White House responded that the United States has not declared war.
On September 30, Rex Tillerson stated while on a trip to China, that the U.S. and North Korea were in "direct contact". "We have lines of communications to Pyongyang" he said, "We're not in a dark situation". He further stated that the U.S. was "probing" the possibility of direct talks. "So stay tuned".[116] TheAssociated Press has claimed that a long-usedback-channel has been re-opened in the past months, the 'New York Channel', facilitating communication between Washington and Pyongyang.[117] The next day however, Trump made a series of posts on Twitter which seemed to undermine Tillerson's efforts, claiming that Tillerson was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korea and that "we'll do what has to be done".[118]
Former CIA DirectorJohn O. Brennan, during a Q&A session atFordham University on October 18, remarked that "I think the prospects of military conflict in the Korean peninsula are greater than they have been in several decades... I don't think it's likely or probable, but if it's a 1-in-4 or 1-in-5 chance, that's too high."[119]
An argument emerged in both South Korea and Japan about the nuclear option, driven by worry that the United States might hesitate to defend the countries if doing so might provoke a missile launched from the North at major U.S. cities.[120] In South Korea, polls show that 60 percent of the population favors building nuclear weapons, and that nearly 70 percent want the United States to reintroduce tactical nuclear weapons, which were withdrawn in 1991.[121][120] In October,Hong Jun-pyo, one of the leading South Korean opposition figures, argued "only by deployingtactical nuclear weapons on South Korean territory can we negotiate with North Korea on an equal footing."[122] RepublicanSenatorJohn McCain urged that the U.S. should consider deploying nuclear weapons to South Korea.[122] Former United States Secretary of StateHenry Kissinger mentioned "If North Korea continues to have nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons must spread in the rest of Asia."[120]
On November 13, North Korean soldiers unsuccessfully attempted to preventOh Chong-song,a defector from crossing the border in theJoint Security Area. TheUN Command stated that North Korean soldiers had violated thearmistice agreement by firing more than 40 shots in thedemilitarized zone and in the case of one soldier by briefly crossing the military demarcation line.[123]
On November 20, 2017, Trump officially announced re-listing North Korea as aState Sponsor of Terrorism, which called the move as a "serious provocation".[124][125]
On November 28, North Korea conducted its thirdintercontinental ballistic missile test, marking the end of a two-month span in which no missile tests were conducted.[126][127][128][129][130] Photos of Hwasong-15 show the missile's booster engines are two Hwasong-14 engines bundled for its first stage, as agreed by three separate analysts, Tal Inbar, Kim Dong-yub, and Chang Young-Keun.[131] The missile was said to have flown to a record altitude of 4,500 kilometres (2,800 mi) and landed in the Sea of Japan into the exclusive economic zone, a distance of 1,000 kilometres (600 mi).[132] breaking up into three pieces. Initial assessments made by the Pentagon and subsequent analysis suggested that it was an ICBM judging by the height it traveled and, if fired on a normal trajectory, would more than be able to reach anywhere in the continental United States.[132] The South Korean and Japanese defense ministries also concluded that an ICBM was likely launched and that it had traveled in a lofted trajectory.[132] Japanese defense minister Itsunori Onodera also added that the missile broke apart into at least three pieces[132] before it crashed into the waters located within the exclusive economic zone, indicating that the re-entry vehicle failed to survive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.[131] It was launched from a larger launcher vehicle, with 9 axles, as opposed to the 8-axle vehicles purchased from China. Each of the three ICBMs launched so far have been launched from three different locations.[131]
In a press conference shortly after the launch, President Trump said regarding North Korea's ICBM launch that "we'll handle it".[133]
In late December 2017, it was reported that Chinese and Russian-flagged tanker ships had been observed conducting at-sea transfers of oil and petroleum products to North Korean ships over the course of the previous year, violating sanctions imposed by the US and United Nations. In posts on Twitter, Trump blasted China for defying the sanctions and continuing to support North Korea. One of these vessels,Lighthouse Winmore registered out ofHong Kong with 23 Chinese crew members, was seized by South Korean officials after reportedly delivering 600 tons of oil illegally to the North Korean vesselSam Jong 2 in a part of theWest Sea, between China and South Korea back in October.[134][135][136]
Executive Order 13722 blocks, among other items, the export of laborers which benefit the government of North Korea, or the Worker's Union Party.[137] On 1 January 2018The New York Times reported that as many as 147,000 workers from North Korea now work abroad, and that the Worker's Union Party of Pyongyang garnishes from 30 to 80 percent of the workers' wages. The specific businesses reported included a shipyard, a shipping container manufacturer, and greenhouses in Poland.[138]
The crisis had caused concern about the safety of the2018 Winter Olympics to be held inPyeongchang in South Korea.[139] It was widely believed that if North Korea participated in the Games, the risk of escalation would diminish.[140] This theory was later put to the test when North Korea's leaderKim Jong Un signaled a possibility to send athletes to the Games after all in his New Year's speech for 2018, saying "North Korea's participation in the Winter Games will be a good opportunity to showcase the national pride and we wish the Games will be a success. Officials from the two Koreas may urgently meet to discuss the possibility".[141] The announcement was followed by South Korean agreement to participate in the first high-level talks with the North since December 2015. The talks were scheduled for 9 January 2018.[142] North Korea is also prepared to talk to the IOC that week.[143] In preparation for the North–South talks, the two countries restored theSeoul–Pyongyang hotline, which had been inactive for almost two years,[144] and exchanged related documents via fax.[142] After these developments, North Korea's IOC memberChang Ung said that the participation of North Korean figure skaters again looked likely.[145] The possibility of North Korean participation has stirred up talk about a possibleOlympic boycott by theUnited States, after the administration of PresidentDonald Trump, who has been at loggerheads with Kim Jong Un, has issued mixed messages.[146] After discussions on 9 January 2018, North Korea announced they would send athletes to compete along with a delegation to attend the Winter Olympics.[147]
North and South Korea marched together in the Olympics opening ceremony and fielded a united women's ice hockey team.[148] As well as the athletes, North Korea sent an unprecedented high-level delegation, headed byKim Yo Jong, sister ofKim Jong Un, and PresidentKim Yong-nam, and including performers like theSamjiyon Orchestra.[149] The delegation passed along an invitation to President Moon to visit North Korea.[149]
According to North Korea expertSung-Yoon Lee, North Korea's policy toward the Olympics is to enhance North Korea's status: "One doesn't need to be a genius to see that this is what North Korea does: After having created a war-like, crisis atmosphere, (Kim [Jong-un]) takes a small step back and there's a collective sigh of relief that there's no war. It does wonders for North Korea's image."[150]
Residents and tourists in the U.S. state ofHawaii were brieflythrown into a panic when an emergency alert was issued January 13, 2018, advising of an imminent ballistic missile threat. Another message was sent out about 40 minutes later describing the first alert as afalse alarm.[151][152][153]
Three days later in Japan, broadcasting agencyNHK also accidentally sent an alert about a North Korean missile launch in error. The error was corrected in minutes.[154]
In his firstState of the Union address, President Trump devoted much time to North Korea, stoking fears that an American strike was under serious consideration and not mere saber-rattling, particularly given the withdrawal of Dr.Victor Cha as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea[155] and its similarity to George W. Bush'sAxis of Evil2002 State of the Union Address.[156] Isaac Stone Fish ofThe Atlantic published a article stating that North Korea isn't a threat to Americans despite what Trump wanted people to think and criticized Washington for hyping Pyongyang as a threat.[157]
In mid-February, as the Olympics were ongoing, after previous media reports,[158] the Trump administration denied considering a so-called preemptive "bloody nose" attack on North Korea's nuclear program.Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific AffairsSusan Thornton confirmed that the administration's policy remains one of "maximum pressure" via economic sanctions in order to get North Korea to negotiate on eliminating its nuclear weapons. Thornton however reiterated that military options are still "on the table" and that Pyongyang would be forced to give up its nuclear weapons "one way or another".[159][160][161]
On April 27, the two leaders met at the Joint Security Area, with Kim Jong Un crossing the MDL in South Korean territory, the first time a North Korean leader has done so. President Moon also briefly crossed into the North's territory. Both Moon and Kim signed thePanmunjom Declaration, declaring the Korean conflict over and to sign a proper peace treaty by the end of the year. With that, Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang in the fall.[162]
On March 8, in a surprise departure from the hostile dialogue during 2017, Trump announced that he would meet with leader Kim Jong Un, and the two would meet likely by May. Press secretarySarah Huckabee Sanders said that "in the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain."[163]North Korea accepts South Korea's proposal to hold the high-level inter-Korean talks, which took place on March 29.[164] On May 24, President Trump cancelled the planned meeting with Chairman Kim over "tremendous anger and open hostility" displayed by Kim.[165] On June 1, President Trump reversed the cancellation and confirmed that the summit would take place on June 12 as planned.[166]
Following their talks, both leaders signed a joint declaration titled "Joint Statement of President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the Singapore Summit". It states:[167]
In June 2018, NBC News reported that U.S. intelligence believed that North Korea was increasing production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and that, in addition to its known fuel-producing facility at Yongbyon, it had multiple secret nuclear sites.[168] In August 2018, US officials said that North Korea could be continuing to build nuclear weapons, and days later theUnited Nations Security Council received reports that North Korea may not have stopped its nuclear program. The reports also claimed that North Korea was violating the UN sanctions.[169]
In late September 2018, Trump claimed that North Korea had already stopped nuclear testing, and he said that the United States would not impose any required timeline for North Korea's total denuclearization. "I've got all the time in the world...we are not playing the 'time game.' If takes two years, three years, or five months, it doesn't matter," Trump said. He was responding to and denying U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's claim that North Korea's denuclearization would be completed by January 2021. Trump maintained that sanctions against North Korea would stay in place until it had denuclearized.[170]
Satellite images obtained by CNN in December 2018 show that the Yeongjeo-dong long-range missile base (the existence of which was already public knowledge) remains active. The images also revealed continued construction on an underground facility and construction on a facility (the existence of which was previously unknown to the public) several kilometres from Yeongjeo-dong.[171]
A second summit between Kim and Trump occurred on February 27–28, 2019.[9]
As was noted at the time, the Hwasong-14 was launched on a very high angle "lofted" trajectory to avoid overflying Japan, ...
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Military operations Chinese and Soviet forces •South Korean, U.S., Commonwealth and United Nations forces |
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