US not going to go to nuclear war with North Korea: Analyst

Despite all this saber-rattling by US officials against North Korea, the United States is not going to launch a nuclear attack on the Asian country, according to Michael Burns, a political and military analyst in New York.

Burns made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Monday while commenting on US threats and projection of military power against North Korea.

On Monday, US F-22 fighter jets arrived in South Korea to start air combat exercises amid escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States. 

The stealthy F-22s and F-35s that roared into the sky over South Korea on Monday are among 230 American and South Korean fighters carrying out the annual Vigilant Ace 18 air combat exercises on the Korean Peninsula.

About 12,000 troops are also participating in the war games, which have angered North Korea. They are scheduled to end Friday.

North Korea on Monday warned that the "ceaseless large-scale war games" by the US and South Korea are "creating a situation that a nuclear war may break out any moment" on the Korean Peninsula.

“We are not going to go to nuclear war. That’s certain,” Burns said.  “We are not going to make a preliminary strike on North Korea. There’s tremendous public resistance against that.”

“What it is simply is preparing the US military – it’s a training exercise for the US military. Simple as that,” he added.  

“The [US] military, particularly the Navy, has come under much criticism because of these mistakes and accidents taking place in the South China Sea,” he stated.

“And there is growing feeling that we are just not sharp and at attention to project power in the Pacific,” he noted.  

“So what this saber-rattling is all about is simply to prepare our military for an increased state of readiness, and to sort of give President Trump and his administration a little more hair on its chest regarding projecting American power and pushing around North Korea. Nothing more than that,” the analyst argued.

The White House has warned the United States is ready to use its nuclear weapons against North Korea if the country continues to threaten Washington or its allies, amid escalating tensions between the two countries.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the production of more rocket warheads and engines, shortly after the United States suggested that its threats of military action and sanctions were having an impact on Pyongyang’s behavior.

Pyongyang says it will not give up on its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward the country and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea. Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.

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