EDITORIAL: Avoiding nuclear headaches
During the campaign, he called for removing U.S. troops from the region if Japan and South Korea did not pay more. This might provoke both Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear weapons, opening a new front of proliferation concerns on top of the threat of North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile program.
Autocracy is always an enemy of human peace, and the prerequisite for permanent peace in the world is global democratization. A stable North Korea is in the national interest for China, thus it is essential to avoid conflict that would involve North Korea. Taiwan must shoulder the burden of saving democracy and lead China to democratize, after which efforts could be shifted toward pressuring China to work for democratization of North Korea. See the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.