Wars and climate change, making the global security situation more dangerous than it was before, and just as dangerous as after World War II,” the material states.

Last year, the threat of nuclear war could be felt without the help of special measuring devices, when US President Donald Trump and the leader of North Korea exchanged daily messages about who has more missiles. So, perhaps for the first time in recorded history, the clocks were moved because of Twitter (through which Trump communicated with his Korean counterpart).

Good news that will surely brighten up your upcoming weekend - scientists studying the possibility of the death of humanity at its own hands have moved the Doomsday clock to 23:58 - two minutes and the world will end. How serious are these scientists and whether in connection with such situations it is necessary to forget about restful sleep - in the material “360”.

The Science and Security Council said it hoped this clock reset would be understood correctly as an urgent warning of global danger.

Kazakhstan has long established itself as an effective mediator in resolving acute international crises. During the recently completed visit of Nursultan Nazarbayev to the United States, this peacekeeping role of Astana was noted by the UN Security Council. Why, in your opinion, is the Astana format of negotiations attractive to the world community?

When deciding whether to move the needle, the journal's publishers and the publication's Board of Trustees, which includes 15 Nobel Prize laureates, are guided by several factors. Among them are nuclear threats, including the possibility of a terrorist attack using atomic weapons, progress in negotiations on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as the state of affairs in peaceful nuclear energy, technological and environmental factors.

“Doomsday Clock” is a magazine project that was started in 1947 by the creators of the first American atomic bomb. The symbolic clock has become an indicator of the world's vulnerability due to nuclear disaster, climate change and new technologies.

The moral right of Astana to come up with nuclear-free initiatives is indisputable. Let me remind you that after the collapse of the USSR, the Kazakh authorities voluntarily abandoned nuclear weapons, which remained on the territory of the country. The nuclear testing site was also closed. In August 2017, a nuclear fuel bank was opened in Kazakhstan, which gives countries interested in developing nuclear energy the opportunity to obtain low-enriched uranium and abandon the creation of their own nuclear enrichment technologies. The fact that a nuclear fuel bank was created in Kazakhstan speaks of the confidence of the international community and the IAEA in this country and its leadership.

Nuclear war 2017 perspectives. Fresh material as of 01/26/2018

This statement was made by representatives of the authoritative American magazine The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

It may seem that humanity is clearly and rapidly moves to self-destruction, but you still need to remember that nuclear weapons have only been used once in history, immediately after their creation, in 1945, when “Little” and “Fat Man” fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then, every time there was a clear threat of its use, be it the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Indo-Pakistani wars, all diplomatic resources from all countries of the world were used to prevent this.

This year the reasons are similar. “The failure to respond effectively to the threats of nuclear war and climate change in 2017 left the global security situation worse than a year ago and as bad as the immediate aftermath of World War II,” the scientists wrote in the current white paper for policymakers and citizens, in which they announce a change in the time on the clock.

The clock came closest to the anti-record of 1953 in 1984, standing at 23:57. A year earlier, US President Ronald Reagan, during a public speech, told his fellow citizens that he had “outlawed Russia and would begin bombing in five minutes.” The farthest humanity was from Judgment Day was in 1991, after George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev signed START, or START 1, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Then the clock showed 23:43.

Astana initially relied on the creation of an extensive transport infrastructure in the country. In addition, our president has always emphasized that international transit through the territory of the republic is a unique opportunity to attract new investments, production and technological innovations to the country. The country began to implement the “Nurly Zhol” (“Bright Path”) strategy, which is very close in goals and objectives to the Chinese “One Belt - One Road” initiative. Considering the complementarity of these projects, we can say that the EAEU countries will become key in transcontinental logistics. This, in turn, will accelerate the structural reforms being carried out by the countries of the economic union.

Our [American] allies and enemies are being pulled into a whirlpool of political contradictions. The US administration has weakened its pool of foreign policy specialists and is incapable of developing, coordinating and clearly articulating even anything remotely resembling a foreign policy, let alone a nuclear one.

The end of the world: humanity's doomsday has become closer than ever before, the chances of saving the Earth are fading with every moment.

Nuclear war 2017 prediction. Everything that is known.

In the past, the clock showed 23:58 only once - in 1953, during the period when the USSR and the USA were actively working on thermonuclear weapons, Interfax reports.

The Bulletin staff recommends that Moscow and Washington “coordinate measures to prevent military incidents on the borders of the NATO bloc,” and resume negotiations on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), as well as limit the modernization of their nuclear forces and abandon the production of new tactical weapons. nuclear weapons, preventing a new arms race from starting.

It is emphasized that “Trump’s disastrous diplomacy” is to blame for both the nuclear threat and the threat posed by climate change.

Kazakhstan will always strive to help find solutions to certain international problems if there is a need for this. If we can help others find a way out of a difficult situation, then this is directly in our interests. So, during his visit to the United States, Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed concern about the negative nature of the development of Russian-American relations and announced that they would be resolved. For us it is very important. Our task is development, and it always encounters difficulties when there are too many conflict situations nearby.

By efficiency, the Kazakh leader understands the development of “smart” technologies, the development of alternative energy sources that can increase energy efficiency and energy conservation of enterprises. He also says that it is important to actively use digital innovations in agriculture, construction, banking and, probably most importantly, in the development of human capital. The key point that the president focuses on is, in my opinion, that all spheres of modern life must be able to adapt and quickly master new technological knowledge.

Nuclear war 2017 expert forecasts. All news.

The clock's readings are calculated annually and 15 Nobel laureates are involved in the decision. According to the bulletin's authors, the watch has become "an indicator of how vulnerable the world is to the possibility of disaster due to nuclear weapons, climate change and new technologies."

A group of scientists created in the early days of nuclear weapons, “set” the Doomsday Clock. The authors of the idea implied that the time of midnight on the clock signifies the beginning of a nuclear war. Since 2007, climate change and technological advances that could lead to widespread disaster have also been taken into account. “North Korea’s nuclear program has made significant progress in the past 2017, increasing the risks both for North Korea itself and for the rest of the region and the United States,” the alert says.

The end of the world is also quite possible due to “difficulties” in relations between the US and Russia, the situation in the South China Sea, rising tensions between India and Pakistan and uncertainty regarding US support for the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.

Nuclear war 2017 video. All information summary.

Today, only a very lazy person does not care about the question of whether it is expected in 2017, because, given the growing political tension between many states, it can be assumed that the likelihood of such an event developing is very high. Of course, today it is very scary to think that a war could still start, because history allows us to understand that in such situations there are no winners (in fact), but only losers, but there are prerequisites for its development (even if minimal).

It is very difficult to imagine the development of the next world military conflict, so some assume that it will be accompanied by the construction of trenches and the appearance of cracks from explosions in the ground, while others expect nuclear bombings (the new millennium, after all). There are also supporters of the theory that the war is already underway, however, it is “cold” - informational, can it develop into another? Of course, it can, because people have always fought for land and resources that will allow them to become richer, and today on the world stage there are two powers that are waging an almost constant struggle between themselves, from which not only they themselves, but also everyone around them will suffer.

When discussing the question of whether there will be a third world war in 2017, it is worth paying special attention to information about which side to expect the impending threat from. When it is said that there are two states that are constantly fighting among themselves, everyone immediately understands that we are talking about America and Russia, because they are the ones who strive to take the place of leader in the world political arena, and, as we know, there cannot be two leaders Maybe. Today, relations between these two countries have become significantly more complicated, because the West has imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation, which has become an outright provocation of the conflict, because no one can say why the Russians are suffering such punishment (there is no evidence). The EU acts as an arbiter in this situation, but in fact it simply provokes the development of the conflict.

The main problem (no matter how strange it may sound) of modern humanity is that today you can receive news not only immediately, but also practically from first-hand, because now any information can be found on the Internet. However, the flow of (often unverified) information available on the Internet has led to the fact that people have stopped analyzing the events being presented, and many are taking all the democratic negotiations described on the Internet rather frivolously. It is worth noting that Russia will still take part in the third world war in 2017, although there is nothing to be afraid of yet, because today the conflict is being fought only on computer monitors. In the future, this fact may cause the development of a new grandiose conflict.

Should we expect danger?

The militarized conflicts emerging in different parts of the world indicate that the development of another world war is simply considered a matter of time. Moreover, the conflict will not just be military; many expect the outbreak of a nuclear war, because for some reason the leading states are developing nuclear weapons, therefore, they admit the possibility of their use.

The media have long been discussing information that the “powers of this world” are planning to reduce the number of people living on the planet to one billion (usually called golden), because this is exactly the number of people considered to be the optimal number for the rational use of the planet’s resources. It will not be possible to exterminate the world's population without war, although there are, of course, biological weapons, but their use is too dangerous for everyone (without exception). Taking all this into account, a third world war in 2017 is quite possible, but no one can say whether it will be conventional or nuclear.

Forecasters' forecasts

The world, which has frozen on the threshold of some kind of global change, is literally pushing all people to turn to seers and psychics to find the necessary information. World politicians cannot accurately answer whether we should be afraid of war or not, but all those who observe the confrontation between many states are confident that it will still happen, and most people who have the gift of foresight only confirm all these guesses.

At one time, Kasyan predicted the development of a tectonic catastrophe that would reduce the land area and force people to fight for their place in the sun, and Alois Ilmayer is confident that the war will begin with the use of chemical weapons, after which a lot of diseases will fall on the planet and all its inhabitants and epidemics.

The war will start in the east, with Syria being the key to this event. Separately, it should be mentioned that Vanga also spoke about the Third World War for 2017, and it was in her predictions that it was first noticed that the paramilitary conflict that would begin in the east would gradually spread to Europe, resulting in a confrontation between people from two worlds - Christians and Muslims. (the great French astrologer) not only confirms her forecast, but also supplements it with data that the military confrontation will continue for 27 years.

There is also a prophecy of the elders about the third world war in 2017, which contains information that military operations will still take place, and there will be no people left where they take place.

Experts who decipher or interpret such messages are confident that the elders meant a nuclear conflict or the use of biological weapons, because this is the only way to explain the absence of people. However, there is one positive news in the prophecy of the elders (if you can count it that way) - the war will be very short (it remains unclear who to believe - the elders or Nostradamus).

Taking into account all the information described above, it is simply impossible not to notice that the situation today is quite complex, and the war, in fact, is already underway, it’s just that some people do not want to notice it. How quickly will events develop in the future? Nobody knows this, but it is worth saying that the development of any conflict can be prevented, you just need to want some positive changes.

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In May 2015, the famous American billionaire George Soros said literally the following: “If there is a clash between China and a US military ally such as Japan, it is not an exaggeration to say that we will be on the verge of a third world war.”

Soon, similar judgments were made by the Commander-in-Chief of NATO Allied Forces in Brunsum (Netherlands), Hans-Lothar Domroese.

These statements coincide in meaning with the predictions of Western prophets made in the 1950-1970s and concerning 2016 and beyond.

When discussing the question of whether there will be a third world war in 2017, it is worth paying special attention to information about which side to expect the impending threat from. When it is said that there are two states that are constantly fighting among themselves, everyone immediately understands that we are talking about America and Russia, because they are the ones who strive to take the place of leader in the world political arena, and, as we know, there cannot be two leaders Maybe. Today, relations between these two countries have become significantly more complicated, because the West has imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation, which has become an outright provocation of the conflict, because no one can say why the Russians are suffering such punishment (there is no evidence). The EU acts as an arbiter in this situation, but in fact it simply provokes the development of the conflict.

The main problem (no matter how strange it may sound) of modern humanity is that today you can receive news not only immediately, but also practically from first-hand, because now any information can be found on the Internet. However, the flow of (often unverified) information available on the Internet has led to the fact that people have stopped analyzing the events presented, and many people take all the democratic negotiations and all kinds of revolutions described on the Internet quite frivolously. It is worth noting that Russia will still take part in the third world war in 2017, although there is nothing to be afraid of yet, because today the conflict is being fought only on computer monitors. In the future, this fact may cause the development of a new grandiose conflict.

The world, which has frozen on the threshold of some kind of global change, is literally pushing all people to turn to seers and psychics to find the necessary information. World politicians cannot accurately answer whether we should be afraid of war or not, but all those who observe the confrontation between many states are confident that it will still happen, and most people who have the gift of foresight only confirm all these guesses.

At one time, Kasyan predicted the development of a tectonic catastrophe that would reduce the land area and force people to fight for their place in the sun, and Alois Ilmayer is confident that the war will begin with the use of chemical weapons, after which a lot of diseases will fall on the planet and all its inhabitants and epidemics.

The war will start in the east, with Syria being the key to this event. Separately, it should be mentioned that Vanga also spoke about the Third World War for 2017, and it was in her predictions that it was first noticed that the paramilitary conflict that would begin in the east would gradually spread to Europe, resulting in a confrontation between people from two worlds - Christians and Muslims. Nostradamus (the great French astrologer) not only confirms her forecast, but also supplements it with data that the military confrontation will continue for 27 years.

“THREE NUMBERS: TWO EIGHTS AND A NINE”

Veronica Luken gained fame in the United States as one of the most beautiful fortune tellers of all peoples and times. As for the accuracy of her prophecies, it was not possible to verify it: most were made in 1976-1978 and assigned by the clairvoyant to 2015-2020. It is interesting that when predicting the Third World War for these years, Veronica did not use Aesopian language in the style of Nostradamus or the same Irlmayer.

“Three numbers: two eights and a nine,” is the only mysterious phrase that Luken never bothered to explain. Otherwise, Veronica, an ordinary housewife in life, operated on the directions of the main attacks, the number and names of military groups, like an experienced general.

Surprisingly, Luken, like Irlmayer, foresaw the destruction of Prague after the use of tactical nuclear weapons. And again, “Russian troops” invade Europe. True, this is preceded not by a revolution in Germany, but by a rebellion in the Vatican, the assassination of the Pope, and wars in the Balkans. “Russian troops enter Belgrade, advance across Italy, leave in three columns for Germany, in the direction of the Rhine...”

If you believe Veronica, then events in Europe will be provoked by a conflict between Russia and the United States. This predictor prophesies “the advent of an era of universal peace,” but only after a nuclear apocalypse: “People will learn to live a spiritual life, will consciously abandon smart machines, and will seek joy in working with the plow.”

The American woman's prophecies are interesting for several reasons. Firstly, she foresees a future military conflict between America and Russia, living in the “era of detente.” Secondly, Luken is the first to use the now generally accepted term “climate weapon”: in her visions, Russia uses it against the United States, provoking nightmarish earthquakes.

Thirdly, let us remember the following saying of the seer: “War will begin when, after a series of protracted conflicts, all parties suddenly start talking about peace. When it will seem to everyone that the worst has already been avoided.”

VISIONS OF AN EVANGELIST

We are especially interested in the predictions of those whose prophecies have already come true. And preferably more than once. This is true of Congo-born preacher Emmanuel Minos, a member of the Norwegian “Holy Trinity Movement”. Thus, in 1954, Minos predicted the beginning of television broadcasting in Norway in 1968, and in 1937, as a boy, the prosperity of Norway thanks to the reserves of then unexplored oil fields.

As for the third world war, the Norwegian evangelist attributed its beginning to 2016. True, if, for example, Veronica Luken saw “general talk about peace” as harbingers of a nuclear apocalypse, as well as “a bright comet in the sky that will appear unexpectedly for all astronomers,” Minos believed that a sign of imminent disaster would be “the aspiration of hundreds of thousands of black impoverished people escaping famine and war to Europe."

The evangelist made this prediction in 1968, when there was not even a hint of today's mass emigration to the Old World from Africa.

SOROS - “TIME TRAVELER”?

Now let’s return to the American billionaire Soros and his forecasts regarding the third world war, made during a speech at a World Bank conference.

The most amazing thing is that Soros’s predictions, voiced this spring, were known... six years ago. In 2009, a mysterious prophet appeared on the Internet, claiming to be a time traveler and calling himself Ardon Crepe.

Stating that it arose in our time in order to warn earthlings from harm, Crepe in 2009 predicted an armed conflict in Ukraine in 2014, and then - word for word with Soros - he said that “the Chinese leaders, who during the economic reform will need to calm down their people in order to maintain power, they will start a war by attacking Japan and South Korea and thereby provoking the beginning of the third world war.”

In addition, Crepe, like Soros in 2015, called on Washington to “make concessions to China, which will take Russia as an ally,” and allow the yuan to be included in the IMF currency basket.

The coincidence of Crepe's prophecies and Soros's forecast is such that many questions involuntarily arise. For example, was Soros himself hiding under the pseudonym Ardon Crepe? Or maybe the billionaire announced his forecast after studying Crepe’s mystical revelations?

True, if Soros, which is understandable, uses the abbreviation USA (USA), then Krepe uses the abbreviation AFE instead (though without deciphering it), assuring that in his “present, which is the not-so-distant future for those reading these lines, The state called USA no longer exists."

VIENNA PROPHECIES

In conclusion, I will mention the apocalyptic predictions of the “Prophet of Vienna” by Gottfried von Werdenberg, made during a television show in 1994 on central Austrian television.

Let us pay attention: then, 21 years ago, Gottfried predicted the revival of the new Russian Empire in 2017, saying that the harbinger would be “Russia turning off the gas tap to Europe and the not very successful attempt of the Old World to replace such supplies with Norwegian ones.”

We agree that all this was impossible to imagine in 1994. However, like the terrorist entity called ISIS, which von Werdenberg then described as a “quasi-Islamic state of Iran,” as well as UAVs (combat drones) in the skies of Ukraine.

From the prophecies of von Werdenberg, which he attributed to 2016-2017, the harbinger of war will be the coming to power in Moscow of the military, and the third world war itself, which will begin shortly after this, will last two years, as a result of which the world's population will be reduced to 600 million.

Scary prophecies, aren't they? Involuntarily, I remember the famous painting by Salvador Dali “Premonition of a Civil War,” although the predictors are talking about the third planetary and, possibly, the last.

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For several days now we have been completely absorbed in the topic of the referendum. We have withdrawn into ourselves. However, very dangerous things are happening in the world now. Everyone is worried: “Will Trump attack North Korea? Will a nuclear war really break out?

Leader Kim Jong Un, whose name we hardly hear except when talking about North Korea's "crazy" nuclear tests, late last week again challenged the world. First, at a military parade, he showed the ballistic missiles he has. Then he tested a ballistic missile (albeit unsuccessful). And even on the most important day for the country. Namely, on the birthday of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and the grandfather of the current leader.

North Korea's timing was very "meaningful." Because all this immediately followed US President Trump's statement "if North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons, we will respond." Moreover, last week Trump sent warships to the Korean Peninsula.

Context

Will Trump bomb North Korea?

The Beijing News 04/18/2017

North Korea - “the next Syria”

Huanqiu shibao 04/12/2017

The sea of ​​Japan is boiling

Newsweek 04/06/2017

Russia will wait: China will tell the US everything itself

Ming Bao 04/05/2017

We will be friends with the DPRK to spite everyone

Nihon Keizai 03/28/2017 But where did this crisis come from? If Trump answers, will there be a nuclear war?

The goal is to encircle China

One of Trump's goals in stoking these tensions is to divert attention away from himself. That is, to make people forget about Russia’s alleged interference in the US presidential election. The missile attack on Syria, followed by the bombing in Afghanistan, and now the escalation of tensions in relations with North Korea, in a sense, are explained by this goal. At the same time, Trump, in response to these accusations, which weaken his position inside and outside the country, wants to stage a show of force.

Only the main goal is much larger, long-term and strategically important. This is China's environment.

China is a giant that is growing bigger and bigger. In the near future, it may take the place of the United States. This is what forces the United States to take action and develop strategies designed to prevent China from becoming even more gigantic. But Washington is not entering into direct confrontation with China, but is pursuing a policy of encirclement.

China is North Korea's largest trading partner and its only ally. The US now aims to separate China from its important partner by driving a wedge between them.

To do this, he also involves China in nuclear tensions with North Korea. Trump, in his statements on Twitter, asked China for help in resolving this issue. And the US State Department called on China to use its economic influence to stop the implementation of North Korea's nuclear program. Thus, the United States, by attracting China to its side, seeks to ruin its relations with North Korea.

Operation against South Korea?

With these actions, Trump is also causing serious economic damage to China. Signals are already coming from the US State Department that pressure will soon be exerted on China to force it to impose sanctions against North Korea. Moreover, this policy has even begun to bear fruit. Chinese airline Air China announced the suspension of flights to North Korea.

Washington is targeting relations between China and North Korea, including through South Korea. Currently, South Korea, North Korea's arch-enemy, is undergoing a radical transformation. Park Geun-hye, the country's first female president, was removed from office by the Constitutional Court over corruption allegations. And presidential candidate Moon Jae-in, who is expected to be elected on May 9, advocates cooperation with North Korea. The US also supports this candidate. Thus, they plan to attract North Korea to their side.

“The China-Russia partnership is dangerous”

The third stage of the strategy to encircle China is Russia. Or more precisely, the distance between China and Russia, which have strong relations. The main author of this strategy is Brzezinski, the most important strategist of US foreign policy in the period after World War II. “The most dangerous scenario for the United States is the partnership between Russia and China. Therefore, the United States should not treat China as an enemy. This guarantees even closer relations between China and Russia,” writes Brzezinski.

And now Trump, trying to increase cooperation with Putin, wants to isolate China.

On the other hand, it sends a subtle message to China. Trump gave the order to strike Syria at a time when he was hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping. He didn't stop there. In one interview, Trump said that “Jinping received the news of this blow while eating the most beautiful chocolate cake in the world during dinner.” Thus, Trump, sitting at the same table with the Chinese leader, threatens a missile strike.

This large-scale US strategy, of course, will not give immediate results. But states with deep roots base their policies on this kind of long-term and multidimensional calculations. Therefore, everything is not at all what it seems.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally attended many nuclear tests

The crisis surrounding North Korea's nuclear program and missile tests has now reached a new, much more dangerous phase.

For decades, the international community has tried to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its weapons program.

North Korea's full nuclear capability - warheads capable of reaching distant targets using long-range missiles - seemed unattainable until recently. However, today everything has changed.

It is impossible to accurately assess North Korea's military potential. Pyongyang claims the country already has missiles capable of reaching the US mainland - and two recent tests have Western experts suggesting this may be true.

• Is it even possible to defeat the DPRK?

The Japanese government believes that North Korea can already reduce the size of the warhead enough to fit it on a similar missile.

US officials also think North Korea has developed small warheads, but it is not yet known for certain whether they have been tested.

Today, North Korea's ability to launch long-range nuclear launches is not a matter of opportunity, but a matter of time. And this could happen in the next few years.

A glimmer of hope

The fact that this period coincided with the beginning of Donald Trump's presidency can be called an amazing historical coincidence.

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USA versus North Korea: how the rhetoric in the confrontation between countries has escalated

On the one hand, this further aggravates the nuclear crisis, and on the other, it may provide a glimmer of hope for a solution to the problem.

The chaos in foreign policy, bravado and inexperience reflected in the tweets of the American president have become a cause for concern for many. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is perceived in the West as a completely unpredictable person. Well, now the same unpredictable personality has appeared at the head of the United States.

Illustration copyright EPA Image caption North Korean Foreign Minister (center) attended the ASEAN Forum in Manila

To paraphrase the words of the former head of the US Department of Defense, Trump can be called a “known unknown.” Nobody knows what his reaction will be. This makes the situation more dangerous, but at the same time it forces many to rethink it, especially in Beijing.

We don't know for sure what US foreign policy is. In a complex diplomatic system, precise language is important. So who represents American foreign policy?

Maybe this is Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who, under favorable circumstances, is considering the possibility of negotiations with Pyongyang (after all, Trump also spoke about such a possibility)?

Or is it the “Twitter Master” himself from the Oval Office who is ramping up pressure on Pyongyang?

Undoubtedly, the situation has already reached a decisive moment. North Korea's successes mean that it will soon be able to seriously threaten the United States with a nuclear strike.

This is a game changer, and the Trump administration, China, South Korea and Japan will have to make difficult and in many ways unpleasant choices.

The first option is open opposition to the DPRK regime by all possible means. Among them are the introduction of sanctions, increasing combat effectiveness in the region, and even readiness to go to war. In other words, attempts by any means to change the regime in Pyongyang.

This option could lead to real Armageddon on the Korean Peninsula and is unlikely to please China, a key diplomatic player in this drama.

Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption A series of postage stamps was dedicated to North Korea's missile tests

There is another option - containment. This is exactly where we are moving at the moment.

This means strengthening international sanctions - the UN Security Council decision adopted last week actually means a trade embargo against the DPRK in those sectors that depend on income from abroad. In addition, this option involves the supply of defensive weapons to US allies - for example, the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea.

However, containing the DPRK is not a solution to the issue and may result in confrontation with each new round of the crisis.

There remains one more option - diplomacy, which is becoming a particularly difficult task today.

However, the combination of all the above-mentioned factors - the technological progress of the DPRK, the uncertainty that arose with Trump's rise to power, as well as the fact that the whole world was faced with a choice on the North Korean issue - indicates that the diplomatic path can be successful.

Internationalsanctions against North Korea:

• Ban on the export of coal, seafood, iron, iron ore, lead and lead ore from the DPRK
• Ban on hiring North Korean citizens
• Prohibition on transactions with North Korean companies and individuals
• Ban on new investments in already operating joint projects
• Extension of travel ban and freezing of accounts of North Korean citizens
• UN member countries are required to report to the Security Council on the implementation of the sanctions resolution within 90 days.

An important decision was the strengthening of the sanctions regime, approved by the UN Security Council. He was supported by China and Russia, and Beijing also called on the DPRK authorities to stop nuclear and missile tests.

The North Korean Foreign Minister attended the ASEAN Forum in Manila, but his rhetoric was as harsh as before.

But despite the growing harshness of the statements, the parties need to come to some conclusion. How will the crisis develop? Is it possible to create space for diplomatic dialogue?

Waiting for the signal

If diplomatic efforts have not worked in the past, at least they have been attempted. Suffice it to recall the creation of the Korean Energy Development Organization (KEDO) in 1994.

This organization was supposed to build two nuclear power plants in the DPRK in exchange for a significant reduction in North Korea's nuclear infrastructure.

A plan was drawn up to improve relations between Washington and Pyongyang, and key North Korean nuclear facilities were opened to IAEA inspectors.

However, the KEDO program was closed in 2002 because the United States feared that North Korea had a secret uranium enrichment program. Foreign inspectors left the country.

KEDO had a clear goal - to close those nuclear facilities in North Korea that are associated with the country's nuclear program. However, that was over 20 years ago. Today, reducing the DPRK's nuclear arsenal and nuclear program no longer seems like a realistic scenario.

What will be the goals of the new diplomatic deal? Is Trump's America ready to live within range of a North Korean nuclear intercontinental missile? And is Kim Jong-un's North Korea willing to open up or liberalize in a way that would risk the regime's future?

Today we are waiting for a signal from Pyongyang. A temporary pause in testing can mean something like a pause for reflection.

However, if testing resumes, we will find ourselves at the start of a completely new phase of this potentially catastrophic drama.