Rumors of War - Kings of the East

Nuclear-powered USS Michigan to arrive in South Korea - UPI.com
UPI reports: "A nuclear-powered U.S. submarine is to arrive at the South Korean port city of Busan on Tuesday, the same day North Korea is expected to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. The USS Michigan, the second Ohio-class nuclear-powered guided missile submarine in the U.S. Navy, is to make a visit to South Korea to send a strong message of warning to Pyongyang  [..] The U.S. supercarrier Carl Vinson is also expected to arrive near the peninsula this week, a move that is being met with threats from North Korea."

MSN - Trump gets on the phone to Asia as another North Korea flash point looms
The Washington Post reports: "The White House announced Monday that it would host an unusual private briefing on North Korea for the entire Senate on Wednesday, and President Trump spoke with his counterparts in China and Japan ahead of another key anniversary and potential flash point in the North. [...] White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that all senators would be briefed on North Korea on Wednesday by several senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis."

Reuters - Trump calls for new U.N. sanctions against North Korea
Reuters reports: "U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the U.N. Security Council must be prepared to impose new sanctions on North Korea as concerns mount that it may test a sixth nuclear bomb as early as Tuesday. 'The status quo in North Korea is also unacceptable,' Trump told a meeting with the 15 U.N. Security Council ambassadors, including China and Russia, at the White House. 'The council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programs.' 'This is a real threat to the world, whether we want to talk about it or not. North Korea is a big world problem and it's a problem that we have to finally solve,' he said. 'People put blindfolds on for decades and now it's time to solve the problem.'"

Comment: I remain shocked the the U.S. mainstream news media is not paying more attention to these developments. As the U.S. continues to move military assets to support South Korea the Trump Administration has begun a very public campaign to signal resolve to the North and to would-be allies like China. Today Trump hosted representatives from the U.N. Security Council at the White House and again asserted that the time had come to deal with the North Korean nuclear crisis. On Wednesday, Trump will host the members of the U.S. Senate for a private briefing on North Korea at the White House...the entire Senate. I don't think Trump could possibly make it any clearer, he is willing to use military force against North Korea if they don't stand down their nuclear program. These are dangerous days my friends, for those of us paying attention, it's really amazing.