Tensions Escalate Between North And South Korea

A Closer Look At Rex Tillerson’s State Department Agenda
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives at the Capitol to join Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, in briefing House members on the situation with ISIS July 20, 2017 in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
A Closer Look At Rex Tillerson’s State Department Agenda
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives at the Capitol to join Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, in briefing House members on the situation with ISIS July 20, 2017 in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Tensions Escalate Between North And South Korea

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Tensions in the Korean Peninsula are escalating. North Korea’s latest missile launch, last Friday, came close to the flight path of an Air France commercial jet, according to the airline. Reportedly, the U.S. this month will send 200 troops to a South Korean military instillation and will deploy a squadron of F-16 fighter jets to the Kunsan Air Base.

Yet U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said in prepared remarks aimed directly at the North Korean regime: “We are not your enemy, we are not your threat, but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us and we have to respond…We would like to sit and have a dialogue about the future.”

The turmoil has also fueled a debate in South Korea over whether the country should accelerate its own nuclear program.  

“Trump’s ‘America-first’ policy has triggered this kind of public sentiment,” said Moon Chung In, South Korean President, Moon Jae In’s, national security adviser. Worldview unpacks analysis with Bruce Cumings, professor of history at the University of Chicago. He’s author of numerous books on the Korean peninsula including, Parallax Visions: Making Sense of American-East Asian Relations at the End of the Century, The Korean War: A History andNorth Korea: Another Country