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North Korea and the threat of war

Thursday, 20 April 2017 4:48 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 20 April 2017 4:48 AM ]

US Vice President Mike Pence (2nd R) visits Observation Post Ouellette with his daughters (L) near the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border between North and South Korea on April 17, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

These are some of the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:

North Korea and the threat of war

Tensions over North Korea’s missile program remained high over the past few days. Some fear that the United States – that has already mobilized a significant portion of its military toward the Korean peninsula – is already preparing for a war with Pyongyang. Plenty of activity supports North Korea's intention to conduct another missile test, with U.S. threats to back a possible military confrontation. US Vice President Mike Pence visited a sensitive demilitarized zone that divides the Koreas. The visit was seen by analysts as a yet another sign of Washington’s intention to go to war with the North. Pence warned North Korea that the era of America’s strategic patience toward Pyongyang is over. Some are now wondering if remarks such as this show that America has already given diplomacy its full chance.

Turkey referendum crisis

Bitter victory seems much of an oxymoron to describe an achievement by a high-profile leader who has just emerged victorious following a huge test like a referendum. But to some extent, this holds true for Turkey's president. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's razor-thin win in the vote which will give him wider powers as president of Turkey has raised many questions with regard to turkey's future and that of Erdogan himself. Many observers believe that Turkey is now going down a dangerous road which leads to dictatorship with some calling Erdogan as its new sultan. According to this theory, even though the win was by a slim margin, a win is a win anyway, and that will further embolden the Turkish president who has been bitterly battling his opponents for years now.

Kashmir student protests

The unrest in Kashmir has once again hit the headlines. Indian security forces have been deployed to the streets to the streets of the city of Srinagar to confront protesters. There were also reports of confrontations in other parts of the violent-hit region. One of the most violent incidents involved this young man brutally beaten by two Indian security guards in the area of Pulwama, a hotbed of unrest: The latest wave of unrest was sparked after this video went viral in Kashmir: Indian security forces reportedly tied a Kashmiri man in front of a vehicle. He said to have been used as a human shield in a crisis-hit region. But what’s the root cause of this problem? And is there any chance for the settlement of this decade-long unrest?

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