Opinion: US will use economics, not guns, to halt North Korea nukes
Sep 4, 2017, 11:02 AM | Updated: 11:20 am

(South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
(South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
On Sunday, North Korea announced it had created a hydrogen bomb capable of being loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Shortly afterwards, it successfully tested the bomb.
Don’t get caught up in the war frenzy. There will not be war on the Korean Peninsula.
The American public and the media is focused on how the United States will respond militarily to North Korea.
I think they are missing the point: There won’t be — and doesn’t need to be — a shots-fired military response.
The U.S. will denuclearize the Korean Peninsula via economics and, at the same time, renegotiate our trade relationship with China. This is what this is really all about.
As I’ve described on Reality Check, North Korea is a proxy of China. North Korea doesn’t do anything without the permission or at the direction of China. They are, for all intents and purposes, a province of China.
These provocations are China’s way of “negotiating” with the U.S. without being the actual aggressor.
The U.S. holds all of the economic cards.
China needs America economically. We don’t need them. China’s economy relies on the United States to continue purchasing from them. They purchase very little from us.
President Donald Trump has made it clear the U.S.-China trade relationship works in China’s favor and needs to be reset.
Because China holds no economic cards, they are reacting to the U.S. economic moves by having North Korea make a provocation. Instead of responding militarily, each time North Korea provokes, Trump tightens the squeeze on China.
For example, in response to North Korea’s nuclear test, Trump tweeted:
The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
In other words, we’re considering stopping all trade with China. This would devastate their economy and send them into a depression. They know this.
That’s why China and Russia announced their goal is for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S. is not going to attack North Korea and it’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength and brilliant strategy.
The U.S. is going to achieve its objectives through economic measures. We’ve been doing it all year and this latest bomb test is only a natural step in the process.
When you hear China call for six-party talks, you will know it has caved. China will make North Korea look like the loser so it can save face and will negotiate for favorable economic conditions.
North Korea will be put in check and the Trump administration will achieve what other administrations have failed to do in the last 25 years, all without firing a single shot or killing one innocent civilian.