President Obama on Tuesday appeared to execute a 180-degree shift on U.S. policy towards North Korea’s advancing nuclear program. In a statement released early Tuesday morning, he called North Korea’s third successful nuclear test an “impressive accomplishment” that reflects North Korea’s “new prominence in the region and the world.”
Simulation not to scale.The White House released the statement after North Korea detonated a miniaturized nuclear device at a northeastern test site, state media said, defying U.N. Security Council orders to shut down atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation.
In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the test, saying it was “a sign that the North Koreans truly are our brothers, our equals and to be respected.”
The underground explosion has taken North Korea to the final stages of its goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a long-range missile that could decimate a U.S. West Coast city. Pres. Obama’s statement Tuesday is seen as an indication that the White House believes it is time for the US to appease Kim Jong Un.
The president’s statement also referenced reparation payments to North Korea, a step which no observers expected. In particular, in the coming years the president said that the U.S. would be willing to “tow the line” on “fixing what we did in the past.” Some experts believe that the U.S. may admit fault in the Korean War that technically remains ongoing between North and South Korea.
Official state media said the test was conducted in a safe manner and is aimed at coping with "outrageous" U.S. hostility that "violently" undermines the North's peaceful, sovereign rights to launch satellites.
“They’ve got the goods already so the president has to protect Americans by making them happy.”
Feminist activist and Obama-supporter Sandra Fluke said from her Georgetown apartment early Tuesday morning that the time has arrived to acquiesce to North Korean nuclear power. “They’ve got the goods already so the president has to protect Americans by making them happy,” she said. Fluke estimates that the U.S. will begin paying approximately $50 billion per year to the North Korean government to maintain “quality relations.”
Santa Marino College professor of psychology Jody Hynes-said that a nuclear North Korea could lead to more stable relations with the isolated country. “Often when one has less power it can strain relations,” she said. By North Korea having the ability to incinerate a city on the U.S. West Coast, Kim Jong Un will “feel more secure with himself and less prone to fighting,” according to Hynes- Olanrewaju.
The United States Geological Survey said earlier Tuesday that it detected a 4.9 magnitude earthquake in North Korea. This is believed to be the nuclear device.