(ConservativeJournal.org) – Officials in the US are concerned over an apparent shift in North Korean Leader’s Kim Jong-un’s policy towards South Korea, indicating a possible move towards military action in the coming months. The officials emphasize the increased aggressiveness in Kim’s recent declarations, which are now way more hostile than they’ve been in a long time. However, concrete signs of North Korea gearing up for combat or a major war have not been found by the US either.
There is speculation that Kim might opt for strategic strikes aimed at avoiding rapid escalation, drawing parallels to the 2010 incident when North Korea shelled a South Korean island. This exchange of artillery fire resulted in casualties on both sides, including civilians in the South, but the conflict de-escalated relatively quickly.
Despite the Biden administration’s attempts to engage North Korea in diplomacy since 2021, Kim’s perceived betrayal and humiliation during the failed 2019 diplomacy with Donald Trump seem to have influenced his current stance.
Recent events, such as the firing of cruise missiles into the sea from North Korea’s west coast and the testing of an intermediate-range missile with a hypersonic warhead, have heightened tensions in the region. On January 5, Kim’s military shot some artillery shells around the water of South Korean islands, which then led to the regime ultimately moving away from their claimed goal of reunification with South Korea, which they formally announced on January 16.
Kim’s recent aggressiveness is evident in the recent abandonment of peace-keeping agreements and the escalation of military actions. Pyongyang claims that they have successfully tested new missiles and underwater attack drones capable of carrying a nuclear weapon since the beginning of January. These developments follow a two-year period of frequent missile launches and weapons development, in defiance of UN sanctions.
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