Chronicles of North Korea

Background History

Everybody knows North Korea’s history-it used to be one country with South Korea and then got split after the Korean War-but not everyone knows the true reason behind why North Korea’s government is what it is. People assume that its communist government is a leftover of Soviet occupation. In reality, it’s actually the leftover of Imperial Japanese occupation.

The Japanese occupied Korea before it split and before the Soviets occupied North Korea. While they were there they told the Koreans that they were a subset of the Japanese race. So now, even after North Korea became its own country, North Koreans are told that they are the purest race alive. Their leaders reason that this is why they need a strong leader to protect them from the outside world. Thus, their leader is essentially worshipped.

After Independence

After the division of North and South Korea, North Korea relied heavily on the Soviet Union for money. This went well for a while, but after the USSR collapsed the North Korean government was in big trouble. The Soviet Union no longer gave subsidies to North Korea, and, as a result, one in ten North Koreans starved to death. This lead Kim Jong-Il, the leader at the time, to create and impose the Songun policy. This was a policy that said that the military came first. This lie elaborates and goes on to say that North Korea is basically at war with the entire world, and especially the US, at all times. In this way, the government has an excuse for why conditions are so bad for their citizens. The funny thing though is that it works pretty well. It also gives them an excuse to test out their weapons every so often.

How North Korea Got Nukes

North Korea’s militarism distracts countries like the US from focusing on how North Korea’s citizens are treated to North Korea’s weapons and any threat they pose. North Korea puts all of its resources into building up its military and weapons arsenal. This weapons arsenal also includes nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union showed them how to use nuclear power for energy, and, once the USSR collapsed, North Korea started developing nuclear weapons. Their goal is to develop a nuclear weapon that can hit the US.

What are ICBMs?

ICBM stands for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile. They are actually multiple missiles stacked on top of each other that are really hard to make. This is important because North Korea doesn’t have a successful ICBM yet. They need one if they want to ever nuke the US because missiles carry the nukes. They already have a lot of short and mid-range missiles that can effectively hit South Korea and Japan, but they can’t use them.

What’s Stopping Them?

The US is the only thing stopping them from doing this. The US is allies with both Japan and South Korea, so bombing either of those countries would risk warfare with the US, and although the US can bomb North Korea, North Korea cannot bomb the US. Which brings us back to ICBMs.

Why Are They so Important?

If North Korea can develop an ICBM then they could bomb the US. In fact, reports say that North Korea has developed an ICBM, called the Hwasong-14, that could hit Alaska already. There’s good news though. The ICBM they developed is too small to carry a nuclear bomb. They would need to figure out how to miniaturize the nuke, and experts say that they can’t do this yet. The fact that they have an ICBM is still really important because it shows that North Korea is progressing very fast. If they build one that can successfully bomb the US then the US would be more hesitant to aid South Korea and Japan. Then Japan and South Korea would develop their own nukes, and that would lead other countries to build their own nukes too. Don’t worry too much, though. US presidents have been talking to China so that China can reduce trade with North Korea (as that would hurt North Korea a lot. All in all, North Korea still has a long way to go.