North Korea’s declaration of war and its effect

On December 28, Kim Jong-un, leader of North Korea, claimed that they are currently preparing for war. He said that the security of the Korean Peninsula has become “severely dangerous” since the United States “unprecedented” act motivated North Korea to start a war (Soo-yeon). 

In 2024, North Korea is planning to launch three more military spy satellites, build military drones, and boost its nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang has already put a spy satellite into orbit in November with Russia which was already their third attempt that month. The goal of North Korea seems to be preparing for war with South Korea, especially Kim Jong-un ordered to “pacify the entire territory of South Korea”. North Korea seems to continue its military pressure since there is a November presidential election in the US. Moreover, North Korea views South Korea not as a sole country, but as a foreign power, relying a lot on the United States. The relationship between Moscow,  China, and North Korea is predicted to continue the relationship which is shown by Kim Jong-un inviting Vladimir Putin to visit the reclusive nuclear-armed country. Also, according to CNN, Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping have exchanged New Year’s messages saying that they will promote exchange and visits in various fields (Seo).

After the outbreak of COVID-19, the life of North Korean people became much more poor as North Korea’s government contained the entire country from the rest of the world. Thus, if the war starts, North Korean people’s lives are expected to suffer from severe poverty.