Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton warned that the geopolitical situation with North Korea is bound to only get worse over time while calling to reunify the Korean Peninsula.
“The North Koreans — this very erratic, unstable regime — may soon have the capability to harm us directly,” Bolton said in an interview with John Catsimatidis that aired Sunday on New York’s AM 970.
“The real objective of the Trump administration has to be to convince China that it’s in their best interest to find a way to reunify the Korean Peninsula as peacefully as possible,” he added.
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The former ambassador maintained that it is important to keep all military options on the table, while arguing that pushing China toward accepting reunification of the peninsula may be the only viable diplomatic option.
“If our main purpose is to prevent North Korea from having nuclear weapons, I think the only long-term assurance we have that that is achievable is by reunifying the two Koreas. Faced with the choice of using military force or trying to get reunification — I think we always have to keep force on the table — but if there’s any diplomatic option left, it is pushing China towards accepting reunification,” he argued.
Bolton also warned that North Korea is likely working on perfecting its submarine capabilities, making it possible for the country to send strategic submarines to the U.S. Pacific coast.
“If they can achieve that capability, they could put nuclear weapons on submarines that could get much closer to the United States … That might go undetected in the vast Pacific Ocean,” he said.
“When you look at North Korea’s behavior, it just gets worse and worse and worse … If this is North Korea’s behavior now, imagine what it will be when they really do have deliverable nuclear weapons, which, as I say, could come very soon,” he added.
The former ambassador also addressed the ongoing tensions in Syria, stating that the Russian policy of supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad is making the situation “more unstable.”
“If anything, the situation is getting more unstable. And no indication from the Russians that they are looking for a way out of this. They still support Assad. They still back the Iranian regime … I think it is increasingly dangerous.”