After detecting projectiles resulting from a US/South Korea military drill, North Korea claimed to have fired over 130 artillery rounds on both the east and wests coast of the Peninsula. After firing the rounds, a communication was sent from a North Korean base explaining that “The enemy should immediately cease military actions that cause escalation of tensions in areas near the front lines where visual surveillance is possible.” Problems arose when an unspecified amount of shells were reported to have landed in a buffer zone near the sea border between the North and South. The South claimed that this was in violation of the 2018 inter-Korean agreement.
Recent tensions between North Korea, and a large number of countries within their immediate vicinity have resulted from continuous and ever closer attacks toward the countries’ borders. This is not just limited to South Korea, but also Japan. As stated previously, the recent barrage was believed to have breached the inter-Korean agreement – an agreement whose purpose was to deescalate tensions between the two neighboring countries. Personally, I think that no matter the reached agreement, North Korea will continue either barrage or outwardly threaten other countries in the pursuit of remaining ‘untouched’, if you will. I see it as a point of weakness, rather than aggression. North Korea has resumed ICBM and nuclear testing for a reason, and while I am unsure of why, I do know that the strongman tactic is one that they appear to be happy with displaying others. Eventually I believe that further escalation will result in a drastic outburst from either side of the border, but I am also hopeful that drills from the South Korea/US side remain a reminder, apologies for the redundancy, for the North that any measures that they are willing to take will be met with an equal, if not stronger, force.
The actions and recent display of action from North Korea can one hundred percent be seen in the lens of Realist ideologies. North Korea has been, and continues to be a force that refuses to both be intimidated by other countries and follow regulations set into place to protect against rapid escalations. While the US and the South are capable of working together to provide protection and demonstrate defense against the North ( a more Liberal agreement/view) , the constant rejection of relations and future agreements with others only helps show the primal nature of “each man for himself” within the North’s philosophy in international relations.