Is President Obama To Blame For North Korea's Nuclear Tests?

U.S. President Barack Obama visits U.S. military personnel stationed at Observation Post Ouellette along the Demilitarized Zone which borders North and South Korea, outside Seoul. 2012 REUTERS/Larry Downing

Bryan Bender and Hanna Trudo, Politico: Obama under fire after North Korean nuke test

Republicans and Democrats alike say the administration's policies have failed to stop Kim Jong Un.

Pressure grew on President Barack Obama on Friday — including from his own party's nominee, Hillary Clinton — to take more aggressive action against North Korea for its latest nuclear weapons test, including using new sanctions authority that could put the White House at odds with China, Pyongyang's protector and largest trading partner.

The fifth and largest underground test, which came on the heels of three provocative missile tests, stoked new fears that North Korea’s boasts that it can place a hydrogen bomb atop long-range missiles may soon be reality.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: In all fairness .... there was/is very little that President Obama could have done to stop North Korea's march to develop nuclear weapons. I have mentioned in the past that all roads to North Korea go through China .... but the Chinese have shown little if any interest to use their influence to change North Korea's nuclear policy. There are some who say that maybe President Obama should have used America's economic and political levers to influence the Chinese to put pressure on the North Koreans .... but the American economy is now dependent on a robust Chinese economy, and considering the risks of imposing economic restrictions on China this is one road that I can only guess President Obama decided to not travel.