North Korea's Enmity with the United States
North Korea has long regarded the United States as an adversary that poses a direct threat to its people's welfare. The main source of the enmity can be attributed to the 1950 war. North Korea seems to be constantly threatening South Korea with the assistance of China and Russia. Historically, North Korea's crossing of the 38th parallel to strike South Korea was incorrect. Seeing South Korea as a vulnerable ally, the US decided to support them (Stone, 2014). North Koreans, on the other hand, argue that Americans are to blame for the resulting war. Based on this North Korean propaganda, its leadership has continuously taught its generations to hate the Americans.
Instilling Fear in North Korean Citizens
In a country where information accessibility is almost impossible, North Korea has taken this advantage to instill fear in its citizen. In fact, their leader, Kim Juon-un has forced them into believing that it’s only him that can defend and safeguard them (Lowe, 2014). Due to Kim’s addiction to power, irrational approach in solving crisis with South Korea, miscalculations in its nuclear tests and its selling weapons to the neighbor are likely to trigger nuclear strike to S. Korea and America.
The Perception of the US as a Tough Country to Attack
Firstly, North Korea is irrational to believe that America caused destruction to their own land when they struck them form air (Van Den Berg, 2017). The deadly US military strike made the Korean government portray Americans a tough country to attack that is ready to ruin completely their culture. This adds to the fact that the US military forces led a UN coalition in support of South Korea to fight against North Korea. A professor in North Korea argues “The bombing is treated as the original sin in the North Korean propaganda and it certainly was savage.” The US is certainly concerned about this. North Korea has already proven its nuclear weapon prowess (Pollack, 2017). Its weapons can hit the very heart of America. It believes that this is the only way to safeguard the nation’s dignity. It’s aimed at defending itself against this present hostile world inclined to the law of the jungle. The war ended not with a peace treaty, but an armistice. Due to this, the South and North are technically still in conflict (Van Den Berg, 2017).
North Korea's Nuclear Program and International Security
Moreover, the US has been on a regular plan to curb the North Korean nuclear program. Last year North Korea claimed that the reactionary imperialist force on military and political pressure together with sanctions upon their country had reached an extreme (Pollack, 2017). Currently, Americans have been banned from traveling to North Korean. Nevertheless, North Koreans have kept producing nuclear weapons. At one moment it’s reported that they had so many weapons enough to destroy half a country or even an entire one. Again, another risk sets in. North Korean’s are said to be trading nuclear weapons with terrorist groups such as ISIS and the Al-Shabaab among others (Pollack, 2017). This is highly delicate and hazardous to the rest of the world.
Potential Consequences of a Nuclear Attack
In conclusion, it’s worth noting that any nuclear attack on the US affects the world in one way or the other. The recent war of words between Trump and Kim Jong-un is a step closer to the battle zone. Korean People’s Army has claimed to be undertaking a careful examination plans to strike Guam which is an island in the Pacific. Even as the North Koreans boast of an international ballistic missile successful tests, one can be sure that the missiles are targeted to the either the Americans or South Koreans.
References
Lowe, P. (2014). The origins of the Korean War. Routledge.
Pollack, J. D. (2017). No exit: North Korea, nuclear weapons, and international security. Routledge.
Stone, I. F. (2014). The Hidden History of the Korean War: 1950–1951. Open Road Media.
Van Den Berg, B. C. M. (2017). American Propaganda Against the Enemy: Korea and Vietnam (Bachelor's thesis).
