While it’s hard to imagine Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un actually beginning a nuclear war, the commentary between the two has become increasingly concerning. Especially as North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho claimed that recent comments by Trump were interpreted as a declaration of war.
Over the past few weeks Trump and some of the North Korean officials have been issuing a series of comments, none of which were entirely positive. Trump on several occasions issued threats to the North Korean regime, with each one being quickly countered by some comment or act of defiance.
On one hand you would still think the most likely outcome is that some sort of resolution occurs. Whether it’s some sort of financial arrangement or otherwise, you’d like to think that even government officials would realize that nuclear options are not a good idea.
However what’s concerning is that none of the participants involved seem to have the personality type that’s wired to back down and find another solution. Trump and the Korean officials have both backed themselves into some pretty defiant positions, and at some point either one side is going to have to take a step back or else there really could be conflict.
The Wall Street Journal reported that “Ho, speaking to reporters in New York, said North Korea would “shoot down U.S. strategic bombers, even if they are not yet inside air-space border of our country.”
So at the moment, the situation isn’t exactly ideal.
Should something actually occur, this could be the type of development that could lead to a repricing of the bubbles that have been inflated over the past decade. It’s taken a lot of printed money and manipulation to keep stock, bond, and real estate levels so high, and even so, the markets are hardly stable at this point.
Hopefully the situation is resolved peacefully. Although if you believe that precious metals represent a good investment profile, certainly owning physical bullion prior to such an event occurring continue to seem wise.