As it considers how to stop North Korea’s nuclear program, the Trump administration confronts an uncomfortable truth: The more sanctions the West has piled on the regime, the more progress it has made in missile technology. Instead of blunting its nuclear ambitions, more than a decade’s worth of sanctions have pushed North Korea into the arms of China, which so far has resisted turning the screws on its troublesome ally. The stepped-up pressure by itself isn’t likely to convince North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear ambitions. But it does create a glimmer of fresh hope for a seemingly intractable predicament: What’s possible, though far from certain, is that economic pressure from the US on China and from China on North Korea – coupled with robust US military preparation for any kind of action from Pyongyang – could set the stage for talks that lead to a diplomatic breakthrough on the larger geopolitical issues.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/sanctions-haven-t-stopped-north-korea-yet-could-213205450.html

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