US Intel Chiefs Urge Trump to Assassinate Kim, Other North Korea Leaders

As Trump Seeks 'Options,' Military and Spies Are All Pushing Escalations

Ongoing reports about President Trump seeking “options” for handling North Korea suggest that, with the administration having already declared diplomacy a “failure,” all options amount to some massive US escalation on the Korean Peninsula.

On Friday, reports were emerging that one of the big “options” being advanced was for the United States to start deploying nuclear weapons into South Korea, a move which would both confront North Korea, and doubtless be seen as a massive provocation by nearby China.

But there’s always an escalation beyond every escalation, and US intelligence chiefs appear to have settled heavily on one, pushing the idea that the United States should just outright assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and also kill a number of other senior leaders.

While that would undoubtedly lead to a war and massive retaliation from North Korea, some officials are also arguing that the US could follow up the mass assassination by sending special forces into North Korea to destroy the nation’s nuclear infrastructure.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.