The Solution to North Korean Aggression No One Is Talking About | LifeZette

The Solution to North Korean Aggression No One Is Talking About | LifeZette
"When I first suggested writing commentary in support of an embargo of North Korea...
...But the idea is at least worthy of inclusion in the conversation over how to deal with the increasingly aggressive and nuclear regime in Pyongyang.
Any information about North Korea is subject to skepticism because it is a closed society, thus data are not reliable. First, the best estimate for real GDP is about $16 billion.
The 100th-largest city in the United States is Reno, Nevada, and it has the same GDP as the entire country of North Korea: $16 billion.
...There are five major seaports in North Korea: one on the west coast, Nampho, and four on the east coast, Rajin, Chongjin, Wonsan and Hamhung.
Unlike the 1962 blockade of the island of Cuba, my proposed embargo would target the five North Korean ports, with the concentration on the two deep-water ports that can handle large ships.
By stopping the flow of goods in and out of these ports, we could effectively shut down the country's meager economy. 
We can use other ships to patrol the coastline, but the action would be at the ports.
...If we reached out to China, Russia, Japan, Australia and England to supply ships for a proposed embargo, the sheer act of openly talking about the coalition, the number of ships and the specter of total economic collapse may bring Kim to the table.
...According to a CNN August 7 report, North Korea has tested 12 missiles in the first six months of this year.
Real data on what it costs to build and launch these North Korean missiles is challenging to acquire. Some experts suggest a range of $100 million to $200 million per rocket.
If we use the low end of a $100 million price tag, then North Korea spent $1.2 billion in the first six months of 2017.
According to the CIA World Fact Book and as stated above, the budget for North Korea is $3.2 billion for the year; so the $1.2 billion already spent represents one-third of the national budget.
If the North Koreans continue at this pace, they will spend close to 100 percent of their total budget on missile tests. 
The nation's already anemic economy has no buffer space for a total halt of exports.
A full embargo of North Korean ports would be a game-ending catastrophe for the Kim regime, and it should be in the mix as a tool to force the North to the table."