North Korean represents the most imminent threat to the US national security as Pyongyang tested a fusion bomb earlier this month and launched an ICBM last month. In this way, it demonstrated its power and Kim Jong Un’s regime proved to be dangerous to America, but to the rest of the world as well. Even if North Korea doesn’t directly attack the USA, it could attack one of its allies such as Japan or South Korea, or share its weapons with the American enemies or even terrorist groups.
What is coming is another round of fruitless diplomacy. The UN has imposed the tougher sanctions on North Korea and after President Trump declared that North Korea “will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” Pyongyang publicly threatened to launch missiles against US bases in Guam.
Robotics, cyber and space-based communications have sparked an economic revolution, whereas the developing technologies can offer options beyond the tragic choice of appeasement or conventional attacks on the South Korean capital. The new weapons and the eagerness to use them allow for faster and more precise use of force with harm and risk reduced to the minimum, which could allow America to face with North Korea and other threats.
The US aerial robots can be important as they have launched pinpoint strikes on terrorist leaders, whereas drones could enter the enemy airspace to damage Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Navy would surround the country with Aegis anti-missile cruisers, allowing the Air Force to deploy drones in the airspace above to destroy North Korean ICBMs in the boost phase when they are vulnerable.
Thanks to the cyber weapons, a new robotic anti-missile campaign could be enhanced, whereas the US hackers could breach North Korea and degrade the country’s command and control of the missiles. The idea of using sanctions can only be fruitful if cyber weaponry is used too. America needs to degrade Pyongyang’s communications and finances as much as possible as the hackers try to freeze North Korean regime accounts which are held abroad and cut the government off from the global banking system. Any company which is doing business with North Korea could be targeted as well.
The third level of defense against the North Korea could be space-based weapons. Soon, the US would be able to station an anti-missile system in geosynchronous orbit over North Korea. It could attack the country’s ICBMs not only when they boost but also as the warheads traverse before they hit their targets.
With the intellectual roadblocks and every measure taken against North Korea, their deployment of the nuclear weapons will be slowed down. However, critics warn that the destabilizing nature of these new weapons requires new treaties to ban them. The UN officially urges the US to stop the drone campaign against al Qaeda terrorists and Iraqi insurgents because UAVs made it too easy to engage in war. However, the self-appointed guardians of the international law, such as various UN organs are expected to criticize precision weapons or internet combat for violating arms control norms.
Meanwhile, The International Court of Justice has almost declared that nuclear weapons violate the international law and most nations joined a treaty to ban nukes. However, banning nukes may seem like a great idea at first, but it would harm the cause of global security by limiting options to bring economic pressure.
The new technologies the USA and its allies possess could really be beneficial to maintaining a world peace. The cruise missiles and drones which are used against Syria and before that against Afghanistan and Iran are precise, and they can hit a target from a great distance without hurting buildings next to it. They can be used to paralyze a nation’s communications, the internet or economic systems, in this case, North Korea’s. The use of robotics, cyber or space based weapons can be crucial in an imminent war with Pyongyang. It will put an end to the threats once and for all since sanctions are not bringing any results and the United States must react soon. With this kind of weaponry, freedom for a negotiated peaceful resolution of disputes can emerge, before leaders from both sides risk their soldiers’ lives and the honor of both nations.
