By Matthew Swihart, Opinion Editor
North Korea is in the news, and not for a good reason. Their nuclear program continues to accelerate despite multiple sanctions imposed on the small isolated nation, but the more threats the United States receives from the country, the more the world wonders: Should we all be worried about North Korea?
North Korea was established after the end of the Korean War. Borders were hastily drawn to divide the peninsula between a communist north and a democratic south. The small country of the north struggled for years from the aftermath of the Korean War and was almost destroyed again by famines from 1994-1998, but the country survived. From what the public is allowed to see, we know, at least in the capital of Pyongyang, that the quality of life has improved through the years. There are many cars on the streets, people work white-collar jobs, and there’s even 3G cellular service.
But outside the city is where North Korea’s true horrors come to light. North Korea is home to work camps, where defectors of Kim Jong Un are sent when they commit acts of treason against the tyrannical regime.
Kim Jong Un is the leader of North Korea. His rule has widely been overshadowed by the multiple counts of murder, a possibly world ending nuclear program, and public executions. But underneath, the pubic adores, or is forced to adore, their great leader. All North Koreans have pictures of the Kim family proudly displayed in their homes. Any citizen over 16 years old must wear a badge with a member of the Kim family on it, proving devotion to the great leader. If you disobey the great leader, you go to a work camp. Done deal. So, with North Korea being a tyrannical dictatorship, it must not be a good thing that they want to be a nuclear superpower. Yet the reason Kim Jong Un wants nuclear warheads is quite different than people might expect.
North Korea’s history is built on a foundation of pride for what they have overcome. They see the Korean War as a victory for them. Yes it nearly destroyed their country, but they built up again. Famines that killed possibly millions of North Koreans and threatened their whole economic system and just made the country stronger. The North now sees the United States and other superpowers as bullies that they just have to overcome again. If there is a war between the two, as long as a few thousand North Koreans survive, the North will see it as a decisive victory.
Now, this isn’t to defend the actions of the North. They still are engaging in some scary war games with one of the biggest nuclear superpowers in the world. Our president, Donald Trump, doesn’t make the situation much better with his constant threatening. The little “Rocket Man” doesn’t hesitate to retaliate , throwing insults left and right at our new president. With all the talk of “fire and fury,” are we going to have an all out nuclear war?
Short answer, no. This isn’t the closest America has been to nuclear fallout. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia (at the time the Soviet Union) had actually set up nuclear warheads pointed at the United States, 485 miles away from the coast of Florida. Now, the situation hasn’t escalated that far yet. We’d probably be peeing our pants if we were at that stage, but we’re not. It’s playground insults between two children who gained power over nuclear weaponry. Sure, they both have a short temper, but we have to have faith that there is at least some sense of “you attack me and we attack you.” Now, the threat is still there. It will be until some sort of resolution is reached, but until then all we can do is sit and wait for a nuclear war to not happen.