North and South Korea tension is at a new high
North Korea has torn up the truce that ended the Korean War in a ceasefire in the 1950′s which saw North Korea and it’s communist allies (China and Russia) versus South Korea and the UN mandate countries (mainly the US).
This comes amid high tensions in the region, but was triggered by the South’s plans to join the Proliferation Security Initiative which is aimed at curbing the North’s ability to export “weapons of mass destruction”. The North has stated that if the South searches any of it’s ships, then it would be a violation of it’s sovereignty – a declaration of war – and would respond with a “powerful military strike”.
“Any hostile act against our peaceful vessels including search and seizure will be considered an unpardonable infringement on our sovereignty and we will immediately respond with a powerful military strike”
North Korean army spokesman was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.
North Korea now has nuclear capabilities - seeing as it's recent second nuclear test was successful.
This is the highest tension that has been seen in the region for a long time and the chance of a military clash is real.
Russia has increased it’s military presence close to the border with North Korea in an apparent defensive measure – probably for use in case radioactive contamination occurs or a flood of refugees attempt to pour through the border.
It has also been noted that the North Korean Nuclear Plant at Yongbyon has been spotted by US spy satellites with steam coming out – meaning that it has been restarted.
North Korea , being one of the world’s most poorest, secretive and militarised countries in the world and the only stalinist dictatorship remaining, may see that it does not have much to lose.
The only path for North Korea’s political survival is one that is military, aggression, and bribery. The rest of the world has pursued open and capitalist ways and North Korea’s constitution and ideology is incompatible with the modern era. North Korea follows it’s founding fathers Kim Il Sung’s Juche (or ‘Self Reliance’) ideology and since the 90′s famine and subsequent economic collapse – Songun (‘Military First’) Policy. Just as the Soviet Union did, just as Iraq did, and just as China did, North Korea will eventually have to open up it’s trade to the world, enable freedom of speech, and allow political freedom.
North Korea once flourished thanks to the Soviet Union
North Korea once flourished under the banner of the Soviet Union’s rise of communism, being the industrial Korea, with the South being the agricultural side, however after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the North’s trading partners, and unfortunately timed floods which damaged the already delicate agricultural industry of North Korea, it suffered economic collapse and millions died of famine.
Today South Korea is one of the world’s most technologically advanced nations and enjoys decent economic growth, despite North Korea having thousands of artillery and rockets a buttons-push away from destroying South military targets and most controversially the South’s capital Seoul (and all of it’s civilian population).
We’ll see how this plays out, however North Korea and it’s unaware and seemingly hyponotised population won’t go down without a fight.
