Fear of a nuclear attack from North Korea has been in the back of many minds since 2006 when the single-party country declared they had developed a nuclear weapon. On March 7, the fear seemed to become more of a reality with the announcement of North Korea’s plan to strike against the United States.
The threat came about when U.N. diplomats were deciding on a vote to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test in December.
According to an article by the Huffington Post, the House of Representatives intelligence committee confirmed that North Korea has a ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. shores. Since word of this news, there have been plans to implement more U.S. missile defenses—a $1 billion dollar project. Although, in an article by CNN, the military and White House officials said current U.S. missile defenses are “adequate for the present level of threat.”
The U.S. government's original thought was that the plan to attack was a bargaining chip. Rep. Mike Rogers was quoted by the Huffington Post as saying, "This is something that we have to take seriously, and you can see that they're looking for some provocations, not just along the border, but there's some islands that they're interested in.”
The Wall Street Journal had reported the same day with an article stating that North Korea has no plans to exchange their nuclear weapons program for economic benefits. The article also mentions North Korea’s threat to attack Seoul and Washington. “In official statements, it has claimed it has miniaturized nuclear warheads ready for use in case of war against the U.S.”
In the latest news, North Korea is now threatening to add Japan to their list of countries to attack. After Japan called for "independent additional sanctions" against Pyongyang, the North's official Korean Central News Agency carried a statement from the Foreign Ministry Sunday saying it would be a fatal mistake for Japan if it thinks it will be safe when a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, according to an article from Voice of America.
Many news sites find the threats to be North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s way of proving himself to his military. Being that he's a 28-year-old and ruling a country, many have questioned his stability and power. This could be his way of getting the world's attention.
President Obama does not believe that any action will be taken, but the situation is still being taken seriously. The government's plan to increase defense in our country will hopefully persuade North Korea to not fire their missiles.
Photos from telegraph.co.uk and news.nationalpost.com
