1227: North Korea must be challenged with military options. @AmbJohnBolton

Published: Feb. 26, 2021, 5:22 a.m.

Photo: Supersedes the 1994 ed. of North Korea : a country study, edited by Andrea Matles Savada.   http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/contact http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/schedules Parler & Twitter: @BatchelorShow North Korea must be challenged with military options. @AmbJohnBolton Nonetheless, from all the available evidence, North Korea is weaker today than perhaps ever before in its history. For its own opaque reasons, Pyongyang decided to impose even-greater detachment from the rest of the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, almost certainly reducing its already rickety economy to desperate levels. This is hardly the time to relieve the pressure of economic sanctions and international isolation. This is the time to demand concessions from Pyongyang, not reward its obdurate behavior. Moreover, Biden’s biggest challenge, developing a strategy to contest China’s desire for Asian and ultimately global hegemony, should put North Korea at its center. For too many years, U.S. diplomats argued that China is a constructive actor in trying to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue. This has long since been made demonstrably false. China has always been Pyongyang’s enabler, politically, economically and scientifically. President Xi Jinping could end the North’s nuclear aspirations in a stroke if he chose, and Washington must stress this reality at every opportunity. This will be the real test of Biden’s North Korea policy. John Bolton served as national security adviser under President Donald Trump and UN ambassador under President George W. Bush.  He is author of "The Room Where It Happened" https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-02-23/john-bolton-military-force-must-remain-an-option-with-north-korea?srnd=opinion