Opinion: North Korea will never give up its nukes, but we can prevent it from using them

To the editor: Doug Bandow’s belief that “a package of benefits” could entice North Korea to denuclearize is belied by history. (“If Trump wants China to ‘solve the North Korea problem,’ he has to cater to Beijing’s interests,” Opinion July 7)

Washington offered enticements in the past, commencing with the Clinton administration’s Agreed Framework in 1994. Each time, Pyongyang failed to uphold its end of the bargain. The reason: North Korea associates nuclear weapons with security, just as all nuclear-armed nations do.

The challenge is how best to assure that Kim Jong Un’s regime never uses the arsenal. A three-prong containment strategy would include the following:

First, enhance deterrence by bringing U.S. nuclear weapons back to South Korea. If this is politically impossible, bolster U.S. capacity offshore and declare that the Kim regime would cease to exist were it to use the bomb.

Second, promote confidence-building measures to reduce the risk of war. This should include normalization of relations to promote communication.

Third, draw lessons from past nuclear crises such as the 1962 Cuban missile case, the 1969 Sino-Soviet border war and the India-Pakistan tiffs. Have in place diplomatic as well as military posturing strategies to dampen sparks that could ignite conflict.

Bennett Ramberg, Los Angeles

The writer served as a policy analyst in the State Department’s Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs in the George H.W. Bush administration.

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To the editor: First, the United States and South Korea conducted joint missile exercises off the east coast of the South Korea. Then, on July 8, American B-1 bombers flew over the Korean Peninsula, where they were joined by South Korean and American fighter jets. Now it is reported that the THAAD missile defense system will be tested.

All of this is saber rattling. The United States is unlikely to start a war with North Korea. The loss of life, likely hundreds of thousands of people, would be too high.

There are many things the United States can do to force North Korea to take the action it wants,including telling China that exports to the U.S. will be limited unless there is clear evidence that North Korea has begun dismantling its nuclear and missile technology.

This is national security taking priority over American business interests. What President Trump needs to do is clear to me.

Don Evans, Canoga Park

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