Obama administration considered preventive strike against North Korea

The cover of “Fear: Trump in the White House,” by Bob Woodward

Bob Woodward’s account in new book says US President issued order to NSC advisors

The cover of “Fear: Trump in the White House,” by Bob Woodward

The Barack Obama administration considered a preventive strike against North Korea in Sept. 2016 to eliminate its nuclear weapons and missiles after its fifth nuclear test, US journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his recent book.

But the question of how seriously Obama weighed a military strike against the North remains a subject of debate.

Bob Woodward, one of the journalists responsible for breaking the Watergate scandal, wrote in his book “Fear: Trump in the White House” (published on Sept. 11) that Obama issued the order to advisors in the White House National Security Council (NSC) on Sept. 9, 2016 – the same day that North Korea carried out its fifth nuclear test, Yonhap News reported.

During the meeting, Obama was quoted as asking about the possibility of initiating a simultaneous preventive military strike and cyberattack on North Korea to eliminate its nuclear and missile programs. After a month-long investigation, the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies told him the US would be capable of striking and destroying around 85 percent of detectible North Korean nuclear weapons and related facilities.

But Director of National Intelligence James Clapper concluded that even one nuclear weapon landing in South Korea in a North Korean counterattack could kill or injure tens of thousands of people if the North’s nuclear weapons were not completely eliminated. Also, while the Pentagon reported that an infiltration by ground forces was the only option for completely destroying North Korea’s nuclear program, this scenario too carried the risk of triggering a North Korean counterattack with nuclear weapons, Woodward wrote.

Despite the claims in Woodward’s book, many experts and US government officials at the time said it was unlikely Obama had any real intention of actually carrying out a military strike against the North – as he was likely to have already been aware of the inevitable large-scale death toll if a war erupted on the Korean Peninsula.

Woodward also wrote that the CIA considered eliminating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the Obama administration and reported that a series of carefully designed drills were held in the Ozarks region of Missouri – which has similar terrain to North Korea – during the Donald Trump administration on Oct. 17 to 19 of last year.

By Lee Yong-in, staff reporter

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