VP Mike Pence has publicly stated that if North Korea doesn’t give up their nuclear weapons program, then they will suffer the fate of Libya’s Gaddafi.
So, just as a primer, Gaddafi gave up his WMD program in exchange for sanctions to be lifted, and assurances that his regime would not end like Saddam’s had ended (overthrow); however, after Libya gave up their WMD program, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made sure to train al-Qaeda factions and spread civil war in Libya until Gaddafi was slain. Hillary joked of his gruesome killing by saying in an interview, “We came, We saw, HE DIED!” (So funny, I forgot to laugh).
When North Korea heard about Pence saying that the DPRK under Kim would be overthrown like Gaddafi, they simply stated that Pence’s comment was stupid. Many Americans would probably agree. Now President Trump said that North Korea’s comment was too much for him to hear, and the historic peace talks with Kim are off. This coming from the person who has been threatening to nuke North Korea in front of world leaders on live television. Is that fair?
If you were Kim and the North Korean leadership, what lessons would you take away from the overthrow of Gaddafi: to give up your WDM program and trust that you will be treated with mercy? Or keep yourself armed? Let’s really think about it.