North Korea Crisis: Why Has the GOP Kept Quiet?

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has been making threats to start a war with its border state South Korea and attack the United States, causing him to be a frequent name on front-page global headlines. With so much discussion about him, though, it is intriguing that the GOP has stayed quiet about their opinions on him and escalating tensions in his country. While they are expressive in their fiscal and social beliefs, the Republican Party has been mum about this topic. Why?

It is difficult to generalize the beliefs of an entire political party, especially one like the GOP, which is currently experiencing a time of change and redefining its core values. Despite the Conservative Political Action Conference in March, the party still has not necessarily addressed what they feel is the appropriate response action to North Korea and its threats against the United States.

North Korea’s military has recently claimed that they could carry out “cutting-edge, smaller, lighter and diversified” nuclear strikes on the United States in major cities. However, President Obama’s administration does not seem too worried about North Korea. Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokeswoman, feels that “this is just the latest in a long line of aggressive statements.”

Maybe it is possible that the Republicans are quiet to show support of President Obama and his efforts to react to the North Korean dictator. Even though a strong national defense is a core value of the GOP, they could feel that Kim Jong-Un will not keep his promises of striking our nation and that he is not a real, legitimate threat to the United States.

It is also possible that the GOP does not have a counter-proposal for how to deal with North Korea. Even though the Korean War ended 60 years ago, we still have 28,000 troops in South Korea to protect their borders against the North. We also still have sanctions imposed on this country and a defense treaty that requires us to enter any war against North Korea. Given this state of affairs, it is possible that the GOP does not feel there is anything else for our nation to do there.

The GOP could also just not view North Korea as a priority for the United States. There are many domestic factors that the Republicans are focusing on, ranging from the growing economy to gun control reform.

Whatever the case may be, the fact that the GOP has stayed silent throughout North Korea’s threats could be a rare indicator that both parties share similar beliefs on this matter.