NORTH KOREA'S THREATS – AT 10:34 A.M. ET:  North Korea is rattling the saber.  That would always be a matter of concern, but it's a greater matter now, after we spent years allowing the North to break agreements and become a nuclear power.  From Breitbart:

North Korea’s foreign ministry warned Monday that its government is prepared to go to war with the United States, following remarks from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in which he said the Trump administration was prepared for a military engagement with the communist dictatorship should they strike U.S. allies.

“The U.S. should face up to the situation of the world with its eyes wide open. The DPRK has the will and capability to fully respond to any war the U.S. would like to ignite,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying, according to the South Korean newswire service Yonhap.

“If the businessmen-turned-U.S.-authorities thought that they would frighten the DPRK, they would soon know that their method would not work on the latter,” the spokesman continued. “The world will soon witness what eventful significance the great victory won by the DPRK in the recent ground jet test of Korean-style high-thrust engine will carry.”

COMMENT:  North Korea is clearly emerging as one of the priorities of the Trump administration, and a severe test for Rex Tillerson. 

There are two key questions:  Can Trump make any progress in countering, and diminishing, North Korea's weapons program?  And, what allies can we count on?

We seem to be able to count on Japan, which may actually increase its defense buildup in the face of the North Korean threat.  South Korea may be another story.  The new administration in that country appears somewhat less devoted to its alliance with the United States than was the previous group.

But Trump cannot finish his administration with the status quo intact.

March 21, 2017