Will Trump lead the U.S. to war with North Korea?

With the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, relations between the U.S. and North Korea seem to have devolved into a macho competition to see which country is bigger and better.

On Jan. 3., Trump took to Twitter to sound off on North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un, stating that “my nuclear button is much bigger than his, and mine actually works,” affirming that he views himself as the alpha male of the entire country. With every irrational tweet, Trump aggravates the risk of nuclear war. Whether North Korea is bluffing or not about their nuclear arsenal, it is irresponsible for President Trump to tweet emotionally rather than have thoughtful and diplomatic discussions with North Korean leaders to resolve this conflict.

Occasionally, North Korea gains notoriety for their boastful military parades where they show off their military equipment. These performances present uniformity and an array of colors which make the parades dazzling. One could almost fall in love with the spectacles. But behind all of the propaganda and the impressive formations, many individuals see these showings as a threat to the free world. They believe Kim Jong Un is inviting conflict and challenging other nations.

Despite his criticisms of Kim Jong Un, President Trump seems to support efforts to flaunt America’s military might, even proposing a parade that would showcase the country’s sophisticated weaponry.
According to a CNN Politics article from November, there are several instances where North Korea has held actual missile testings. Last November, North Korea launched their “Hwasong-15,” which spent 53 minutes in the air and over 2,800 miles of land. According to U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, North Korea has the ability to hit “everywhere in the world.”

Before people just shrug off the possibility of a nuclear war between the United States and North Korea, ask yourself this: What’s stopping North Korea? And even then, if your answer is the United States government and military, wouldn’t our country’s interference suggest that a war has already begun? In the meantime, let’s hope that President Trump will not make any controversial moves that could surely escalate this conflict to a more serious level. Trump’s button tweet does not seem like a comforting start.