Beijing acts at last

Well I'm not in the mood to apologise to China for taking them to task in a blog the other day for doing nothing to stop North Korea from threatening nuclear war against the United States. But Beijing's latest move, ordering all North Korean companies in China to close in 120 days is bold and timely, though belated, and will be another stab in the back for Rocket Man. America's current action to stop North Korean banks from dealing on the American financial market will also close doors and cause problems for the world's only truly Communist country. However, Kim Jong-un is already angry with China for siding with the rest of the UN Security Council in approving sanctions against him and now knows for sure that Beijing is no longer a loyal friend. So will the company-closure order make any difference in Kim's scheming? South Korean intelligence is already picking up indications that Pyongyang is planning something next month, either additional ballistic missile flights or some sort of demonstration to prove that Kim has not been cowed by the world's opposition. It's all about saving face which in his case is nuclear face. He will want to give two fingers to the world and I bet even now he is plotting with his generals to launch another and longer-range ballistic missile over Japan. Putting myself into Kim's mind, which is difficult, I don't think he will do what the North Korean foreign minister suggested, which is to explode a hydrogen bomb in the atmosphere over the Pacific. If he does do that, Trump will summon his generals to the White House "Situation Room" and will select from Option One to Option Six on the list of military action devised by the Pentagon. I think Kim is wary of going too far. That doesn't mean to say he will stop working on his nuclear programme. He will carry on with that regardless until he knows he can announce to the world, but mostly to Washington, that North Korea is a nuclear power capable of sending atomic warheads all the way to any city in the US. But if he were to explode a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific, it would be the most dangerous come-on to Donald Trump since the current war rhetoric between the White House and Pyongyang began. But Kim may think he can get away with another ballistic missile test in the next few weeks without provoking US military action. Russia and China are screaming that any military action by the US would have devastating consequences. So Trump, who knows Moscow and Beijing are right, will get very angry if Pyongyang launches another missile, but I think he would avoid the Pentagon option. As for Kim, he wants to survive and he wants his regime to survive. So I really don't think he will be stupid or rash enough to explode a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific. If I'm wrong, God help us all.