U.S. National Security Advisor: The Risk of War with North Korea Increases Daily

The National Security Advisor to the U.S. President warned that the likelihood of war between the United States and North Korea is increasing every day. Meanwhile, several U.S. stealth fighter jets have been dispatched to South Korea. According to CNN, H.R. McMaster referred to North Korea on Saturday, December 2, as 'the greatest current threat to the United States' and spoke of the rising risk of war between the two countries. General McMaster stated, 'I think the risk of war is increasing every day. It feels like we are in a race, and we need to compete to solve this problem.' He noted that President Donald Trump remains committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and that there are non-military options available, including asking Beijing to impose stricter sanctions on Pyongyang, given China's economic dominance over North Korea. General McMaster added, 'There are ways to solve this problem while avoiding war, but this is a race, and North Korean leadership increases its military capabilities with every missile it launches or nuclear test it conducts.' He also said, 'We are not asking China to do this for us or any other country, but China should act in its own interests.' According to the National Security Advisor, he and Donald Trump believe that a complete ban on oil exports to North Korea 'could be an appropriate action at this point' and that China should prevent oil imports to North Korea because 'when you don't have fuel, you can't launch missiles.' Trump has previously criticized China for failing to exert influence over North Korea and change its policies. In this context, U.S. officials, including the U.S. representative to the United Nations, have stated that Trump has asked China to cut off the flow of oil to North Korea. CNN also reported that South Korean media broadcast images on Saturday of six U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter jets arriving in the country to participate in a drill. This aircraft is one of the most advanced stealth planes in the U.S. arsenal. About 230 U.S. aircraft and 12,000 military personnel are participating in a drill with South Korea this week.