Link to Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-visits-missile-bases-slams-us-nuclear-means-2024-10-22/
On October 23, state media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited missile bases to examine their readiness to undertake actions of “strategic deterrence”, while calling the United States nuclear capabilities a growing threat to North Korea. The United States strategic nuclear arsenal poses an “ever-increasing threat” to North Korea’s security environment, which demands that Pyongyang maintain a strict counteraction posture of its nuclear forces. North Korea has been stepping up its development of ballistic missiles and a nuclear arsenal, drawing international sanctions, and forming close military relations with Russia. Un’s visit to the bases comes during a period of growing tensions with South Korea and its allies. This has included concerns over what Seoul says is a dispatch of North Korean troops to Russia to fight Ukraine. South Korea’s National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik and Jacek Siewiera, the head of the Polish National Security Bureau, expressed concern over Pyongyang’s military cooperation with Moscow during a meeting in Seoul. The two also agreed to cooperate closely with the international community on the issue. Kim also called for the modernization of the armed forces by giving priority to strategic missiles in the future, calling it “an important principle of the strategy for building national defense.”
I find this article very interesting because it shows the North Korean perspective of events. This article also ties into my other blog post about North Korea mobilizing 3,000 troops into Russia for military training. I find it strange that all of a sudden North Korea is attempting to train their military, gain war experience, and increase their nuclear arsenal. In the other article, some people suspected that North Korea could be helping Russia fight Ukraine in exchange for military experience and advanced weapons technologies. I find it strange that North Korea claims that they are doing this for National Security due to the nuclear threat from the United States because I feel that we view the situation as a threat to our National Security. If North Korea continues to increase their military strength and fight with Russia against Ukraine, then the United States might act out and become directly involved in Ukraine. South Korea might also continue to send weapons to Ukraine in order to prevent North Korea from achieving success due to fear of a later attack on South Korea.
I think it is strange that North Korea claims that they are acting this way because they view the United States as a threat to their National Security because in the U.S., we see North Korea as a threat to our National Security. This all ties into the idea of nations acting out of National Security and National Interest because North Korea is going to want to strengthen their military and attempt to gain experience in order to have a military capable of contending the United States, while the U.S. is going to most likely continue to indirectly or eventually directly aid Ukraine in their conflict against Russia and now North Korea. South Korea is also most likely going to send aid to Ukraine out of fear for their own National Security against North Korea because once North Korea is done with Ukraine, they will most likely turn towards South Korea next.