Trump's threats 'benefit' North Korea

(Baonghean.vn) - Analysts say that with his threats to "totally destroy" North Korea, US President Donald Trump is actually benefiting Pyongyang by providing evidence that the Northeast Asian country's nuclear weapons program is for defensive purposes.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: KCNA

In his first speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the US President issued a stern warning to Pyongyang. Mr. Trump declared: “If the United States is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”

According to analysts, this warning not only failed to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to give up his motivation to develop nuclear weapons, but could also have the opposite effect.

Marcus Noland, an expert from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (USA), commented: “With these words, President Trump has given himself the short introduction of the century to the regime of leader Kim Jong-un. This introduction will be broadcast over and over again on North Korean state television,” as evidence that Pyongyang needs an effective deterrent to deal with what it sees as US aggression.

Meanwhile, research expert Joel Wit from the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University (USA) said that despite these threats, it is unclear whether Washington is willing to pay the price if a conflict breaks out.

However, the expert said that Mr. Trump is an “unpredictable leader and it is difficult to determine when he is serious and when he is not.” Mr. Wit said that President Trump’s threat to “conduct military action” against North Korea did not seem to scare the people of this country.

Contrary to the above view, expert Jeung Young-Tae, Director of the Military Research Institute at Dongyang University (South Korea), commented that the increased threat from North Korea means that this country does not consider Mr. Trump's statement as an "empty threat", and that the threat from Pyongyang is no longer unrealistic to many Americans./.

Lan Ha

(According to AFP)