Rep. Mike Thompson faults North Korea, Trump administration over escalating tensions

Fresh back from a weeklong tour of Japan and South Korea, Rep. Mike Thompson offered harsh criticism Monday of the two adversaries in a verbal war over North Korea: Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the isolated nation, and the Trump ?administration.

Calling for multilateral diplomacy as a solution to North Korean aggression and efforts to develop nuclear weapons capable of striking the West Coast, Thompson, a St. Helena Democrat, condemned the posture and tone of recent comments from both sides.

In Kim, the United States and its Asian allies face “someone who is not particularly rational,” Thompson said. If Kim felt sufficiently threatened, he might even initiate a nuclear war, Thompson said.

“This is a guy who will do anything to stay in power,” Thompson said, referring to Kim’s alleged murder of his uncle and half-brother. “The big concern is: does he misread actions by the United States?”

Last week, a Navy strike group was dispatched to the western Pacific Ocean. North Korea “is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the U.S.,” Kim In Ryong, North Korea’s deputy United Nations ambassador, said Monday. Another North Korean official, however, said the approach of the American naval force would not prompt a military response.

If Kim Jong Un felt personally imperiled, Thompson said, the Korean ruler might conclude “I might as well go out in a blaze,” despite the certainty of a counterattack that would “obliterate him.”

Thompson also rejected Vice President Mike Pence’s comment Monday during a visit to South Korea that the “era of strategic patience is over,” referring to former President Barack Obama’s non-confrontational approach to North Korea.

“That’s the sort of thing that troubles me,” said Thompson, a Vietnam War veteran and former House intelligence committee member. “Number one, what the hell does that mean? Number two, it’s just the sort of thing that could provoke an unstable Korean dictator.”

In his remarks during a meeting with acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn, Pence also noted the recent U.S. bombing of targets in Syria and Afghanistan. “North Korea would do well not to test his resolve - or the strength of the armed forces of the United States in this region,” Pence said of Trump.

There are 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, a democratically governed nation of 50 million people. It has been roiled by tension over its northern neighbor’s nuclear weapons program and continued missile testing, said Thompson, who came home Saturday after last week’s tour with 25 other House members and two senators.

Instead of threats and naval maneuvers, Thompson the U.S. should collaborate with Japan and South Korea in formulating “thoughtful, appropriate responses to North Korea’s aggression,” Thompson said. He faulted a Tweet by President Donald Trump last week which said: “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”

The Los Angeles Times and Associated Press contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@guykovner.