NORTH KOREA could launch start a large-scale nuclear war at any time, leaving a think tank to warn Britons to start preparing for the event.
North Korea could strike at any time because of Donald Trump’s “volatile and impulsive” nature, the UK-based think tank claimed
British civil servants have been urged to start preparing immediately for the possible declaration of war between North Korea and the United States, according to a report by independent defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute.
In the report titled “Why the UK needs to be thinking now about a possible Korean War”, they claim “a new Korean war is a real possibility”.
The author, Malcolm Chalmers, says the “North Korea programme is moving forward more rapidly”, and US President Donald Trump’s war of words with the rogue state’s despot leader Kim Jong-un is doing nothing to reach a diplomatic solution.
The report adds: “If war did begin, the President would be on the phone to 10 Downing Street within an hour asking for support.
“Whitehall needs to be preparing now for a range of possible scenarios that could unfold in the coming months.
“Much would depend on how the war starts. North Korea, for example, might relate if the US shoots down a test missile being fired into the waters around Guam. Or it could interpret a massing of US forces on its border as the precursor for invasion.
“If it was clear that North Korea was responsible for initiating a conflict, it would be difficult for the UK not to provide strong political support for its closest ally.”
Reports from North Korea claimed Kim Jong-un had held meetings with his top aides to consider the ramifications of an intercontinental missile strike on the US territory of Guam.
Mr Trump said he would react with “fire and fury” at any attempts by North Korea to start a war, leading Pyongyang to declare it will wait for the “foolish Yankee’s” next move before deciding whether to fire a missile at Guam.
Mr Chalmers report admits Europe is as much under threat from North Korean missiles as the United States.
“London and Paris are around the same distance from North Korea as Los Angeles, as an ICBM flies,” it says.
However, it did concede it would be unlikely that Mr Trump would be given the parliamentary support in Westminster to sanction UK military assets being used in any war on the Korean Peninsula in the event of US aggression.
The report reads: “If the conflict were seen as having been initiated by Trump, it would be difficult for the Government to secure a parliamentary majority to send UK military assets to Korea.
“Perhaps the most important UK contribution, if war does break out, might, therefore, have to be diplomatic.”
Source:www.express.co.uk