By Georgie Flynn | Asst. Opinions Editor
It is no secret that North Korea has been an issue for the U.S. North Korea has a reputation of not keeping the peace. North Korea has tried to assassinate multiple South Korean leaders, including the 1983 Rangoon Bombing, an assassination attempt on the fifth president of South Korea, Chun Doo-hwan. Recently North Korea has been causing quite a stir by threatening to launch nuclear missiles and break alliances. The whole world is waiting and wondering, “Could this possibly cause a war?”
Last month, North Korea decided to annul the 1953 armistice which ended the fighting in the Korean War. They warned our country of their intent of firing nuclear missiles at us, specifically at Guam which is a U.S. Territory. North Korea’s disgusting intentions of bombing Guam and ridding of the armistice is a horrible idea which only reflects on their past decisions. Their concept of harming others and destroying the peace is completely intolerable and conveys that North Korea has taken it farther than ever before.
Korea was separated into North and South at the 38th parralel following World War II in 1945. The Korean War was sparked by an attempted invasion in 1950 and lasted until 1953. North Korea has been a problem since then from the way the leaders mistreat their citizens through torture and a lack of food to the way they do not let their people get the chance to leave the country, leading them to try and escape to China.
According to an article published on April 8 by USA Today and written by Armando Cordoba, “Almost 100 U.S. Army personnel will deploy to this Pacific island territory in coming weeks as the Pentagon moves one of its missile defense systems designed to knock down hostile targets in the upper atmosphere.”
Not only is North Korea trying at great lengths to cause egregious pain to the country and the people of Guam, but they are also on fragile ground with their ally, China. Jane Perlez published an article in the Boston Globe on April 8 stating the Chinese President’s troublesome views on North Korea’s dangerous actions.
“In an indirect but clear reference to the North Korean crisis, Chinese president Xi Jinping said Sunday that no country should be allowed to threaten world peace,” Perlez reported.
North Korea is safe in China’s eyes. It would be better for us and South Korea if China cut ties as it would mean the extra military would no longer be at North Korea’s service.
“As North Korea’s major ally, China has been discomforted by the behavior of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, but it has refrained from making pronouncements that would signal what, if anything, it planned to do to curb Pyongyang,” Perlez reported.
It is understandable of China to not want to cut off North Korea due to the fact they have been allied with the country since the Korean War in 1950 and supports North Korea with military, in case of an outside attack. However, if China could somehow pressure North Korea into changing their stance on being in a state of war, that would be helpful to the U.S., South Korea and the rest of the world.
The horrific actions of North Korea are being taken into account and South Korea and the U.S. are trying to prevent any future threats. Choe San-hung published an article on March 25 in the New York Times discussing the precautions the U.S. and South Korea want to take in order to prevent any issues with the country.
“The deal, struck on Friday, defines the role that United States forces would play in dealing with what South Korean military officials called local clashes and skirmishes” San-hung reported.
According to the article, no more details of the deal were revealed to the public. “The two allies refused to disclose specifics about how far the United States would go in its supporting role,” San-hung said. San-hung continues with specifics, such as how far the United States would go in joining South Korea in a an attack toward North Korea.
It’s a smart move on South Korea’s and the U.S.’s sides. Trying to come up with strategies to fight off more attempts the North is the only way the world can protect themselves. Hopefully, this will prevent further difficulties with the crazed country.
If North Korea is willing to defy an armistice and is daring to threaten the U.S. with nuclear weapons, what are they willing to do in the up and coming months?
North Korea has always been a destructive place and has threatened our peace once again. This time, it has been taken too far. God forbid there be a war where more death could occur. Hopefully this nuclear missile talk is just all talk and Guam and other locations can stay safe.
Georgie Flynn is a junior English and print journalism major and can be reached at flynng@duq.edu.
AP Photo: Due to North Korea’s disregard over U.N. sanctions, U.S. Army soldiers start to practice military exercises on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 in South Korea by the North Korean border. Allies state the drills are only precautions, but Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, believes otherwise, saying it is preparation for a northward invasion.
