We begin the week with a discussion on an issue making headlines.
North Korea over the weekend, reportedly said its nuclear weapons could lead to the destruction
of United States, if a war on the Korean Peninsula breaks out.
This comes after a barrage of threats made against South Korea, including those of military
action, and blowing up the inter-Korean liaison office.
Today we discuss the latest on the regime and its erratic actions over the past few
weeks and try to see where this may lead to. I'm joined by Doug Bandow, a senior fellow
at the Cato Institute, specializing in foreign policy and civil liberties. He worked as special
assistant to President Ronald Reagan. We also connect with Jenny Town, Fellow at Stimson
Center based in Washington D.C. and deputy director of North Korea monitoring project
38North. Doug Bandow: It seems like the U.S.-North
Korea relationship is back to square one,... where it was before the two Trump-Kim summits.
Why do you think the North Koreans are acting up and what
are they trying to gain from this? Jenny Town: (Same question goes to you) Why
do you think North Korea has shown such animosity in recently weeks? Also, President Trump extended
U.S. sanctions on North Korea for another year. Do you think this
may have also stirred up North Korean's anger further?
To both: It seems North Korea has returned to its playbook of hurling verbal abuse at
South Korea and the U.S. and acting up to get the reaction it wants. But by refusing
to talk to the South and threatening further military provocations, it seems to be cutting
off its nose to spite
its own face. What do you think the regime's
strategy is? Dealing with Kim Jong-un hasn't been high
on President Trump's list of priorities. But this week, John Bolton's tell-all will be
released. Do you think this will prompt President Trump to turn his focus back to the North
Korea agenda? How do you
think Seoul
and Washington should jointly respond to the flare up of aggression? How do you think
the response should change compared to the past?
Will the maximum pressure strategy work? We'll have to wrap up the discussion here
but it's been great hearing your take
on this. Doug Bandow, a
senior fellow at the Cato Institute and Jenny Town, deputy director of 38North, thank you
for your insights.