Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

North Korea Is Trump’s Kobayashi Maru: Here Are 4 Approaches to the No-Win Nuke Test

| Feb. 10, 2017

I grew up in New York, just like President Donald Trump did, so perhaps like me he became a Star Trek fan watching reruns on WPIX at 11 p.m. every weeknight. If so, hopefully he knows about the Kobayashi Maru — a test every Starfleet cadet takes to experience a no-win scenario. If unfamiliar with the Kobayashi Maru, Trump may soon learn the lesson a different way as he decides how to manage the persistent challenge of North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs.

Frankly, I’m surprised Trump has not been forced to take the test already. While North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been patient, this is unlikely to last for long. All indications are that Kim can test at any time a long-range missile that could deliver a nuclear weapon to the United States. Perhaps he is waiting to see what Trump does. More likely, he is allowing the slow-moving train wreck that is South Korea politics to play out. 

 

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For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Wolfsthal, Jon.“North Korea Is Trump’s Kobayashi Maru: Here Are 4 Approaches to the No-Win Nuke Test.” Foreign Policy, February 10, 2017.

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