Trump ‘bluffs’ about US military capability in war against N Korea: Expert

Rasa - US President Donald Trump has been “bluffing” about America’s military capabilities in taking down North Korea’s government, says a top nuclear expert, warning that any military strike against Pyongyang could trigger a prolonged bloody ground war.

News ID: 436069

Date: 28 January 2018 - 20:29

RNA - Peter Kuznick, the director of Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, warned that a war with North Korea would be “far from  a cake walk or a march to victory” for the United States.

“The reality of using the military capabilities is not as great as Trump would like it to be,” Kuznick said in a recent interview with RT. “If there was a military solution, Trump would have acted on it long ago.”

He argued that North Korea’s military resources as the world’s fourth biggest army combined with the difficult terrain on the Korean peninsula, would lead the United States into a drawn-out and bloody war.

"The US is threatening a military strike; however, the top marine general this week said a military action would be really tough on the Korean peninsula," he explained. "In reality, we would be bogged down in very difficult terrain against the fourth largest army in the world, which is quite capable of striking Seoul very, very easily.'

Head of the US Marine Corps General Robert Neller also warned on Thursday that a military conflict with Pyongyang “will be a very, very kinetic, physical, violent fight over some really, really tough ground and everybody is going to have to be mentally prepared.”

He warned that the US would have to be ready for unexpected circumstances given the amount of ground artillery North Korea has.

Trump has, on numerous occasions, threatened North Korea with military action, if Pyongyang refuses to halt its nuclear and missile programs.

In his first speech at the United Nations General Assembly last year, he threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if necessary.

Formerly, the president threatened Pyongyang with “fire and the fury like the world has never seen,” boasting that his country “has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”

In reaction to the president’s fiery rhetoric, the North reiterated that it “will further bolster our nuclear, treasured sword of justice and defend our sovereignty and justice with nuclear weapons.”

Pyongyang says its missile and nuclear development programs are purely defensive and safeguard the nation against aggression from the US and its allies.

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